Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

August 21, 2003Ingham County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at Aug 21, 2003, 8:46 PM EDT for Ingham County, Michigan. It was in force for 44 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
Aug 21, 2003, 8:46 PM EDT (00:46 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 2003, 9:30 PM EDT
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Ingham County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:47 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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 63 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2003-08-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3445 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2003-08-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 239 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
3445 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-38 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1295 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
239 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
306 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.2
Supercell composite
16.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KGRR 220046
TORGRR
MIC065-220130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
846 PM EDT THU AUG 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 930 PM EDT

* AT 844 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER WEBBERVILLE...OR ABOUT
  11 MILES EAST OF MASON...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   BELL OAK AROUND 855 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 4270 8439 4252 8436 4253 8391 4276 8394

$$

DUKE 93

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 8:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIngham28 min
Aug 21, 8:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIonia30 min
Aug 21, 8:16 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningGRR59 min
Aug 21, 8:16 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningGRR59 min
Aug 21, 8:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRBarry, Eaton56 min
Aug 21, 8:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRVan Buren64 min
Aug 21, 8:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIngham46 min
Aug 21, 8:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRCalhoun, Kalamazoo65 min
Aug 21, 9:15 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningGRR30 min

Nearby

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