Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

July 20, 2003Barry County, Calhoun County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 2003, 1:54 PM EDT for Barry County, Calhoun County, Michigan. It was in force for 51 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jul 20, 2003, 1:54 PM EDT (17:54 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 2003, 2:45 PM EDT
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Barry County, MI, Calhoun County, MI

The radar

The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:55 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 142 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1593 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 118 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS53 KGRR 201754
TORGRR
MIC015-025-201845-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
154 PM EDT SUN JUL 20 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN BARRY COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
  CALHOUN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 245 PM EDT

* AT 150 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER LACEY...OR ABOUT 11
  MILES NORTH OF BATTLE CREEK...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   BROWNLEE PARK AROUND 205 PM EDT
   CERESCO AROUND 210 PM EDT
   MARSHALL AROUND 220 PM EDT

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.


LAT...LON 4257 8521 4247 8536 4220 8500 4235 8483
          4242 8507

$$

93 RJD

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 20, 10:48 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	GRR		57 min
Jul 20, 10:48 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	GRR		57 min
Jul 20, 11:03 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Mason	57 min
Jul 20, 11:30 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Oceana	60 min
Jul 20, 12:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Newaygo	65 min
Jul 20, 12:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Ottawa	63 min
Jul 20, 12:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Kent	42 min
Jul 20, 1:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Allegan, Barry	58 min
Jul 20, 2:43 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Calhoun	32 min
Jul 20, 5:31 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	GRR		59 min
Jul 20, 5:31 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	GRR		59 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes in 2003

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.