Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

July 20, 2003Calhoun County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 2003, 2:43 PM EDT for Calhoun County, Michigan. It was in force for 32 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, 2:43 PM EDT (18:43 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 2003, 3:15 PM EDT
In force: 32 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Calhoun County, MI

The radar

The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:45 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, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 138 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 201843
TORGRR
MIC025-201915-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CALHOUN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 315 PM EDT

* AT 242 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER MARSHALL...OR ABOUT 5
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF MARSHALL...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   HOMER AROUND 255 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 4232 8497 4221 8516 4210 8500 4210 8474

$$

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, 1:54 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Barry, Calhoun	51 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.