Alert archive / Michigan / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 643
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jul 5, 2003, 6:00 AM EST for 6 counties in Indiana; 10 counties in Michigan. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 5, 2003, 6:00 AM EST (11:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 5, 2003, 9:00 AM EST
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Elkhart County, IN, LaGrange County, IN, LaPorte County, IN, Porter County, IN, Saint Joseph County, IN, Steuben County, IN, Allegan County, MI, Barry County, MI, Berrien County, MI, Branch County, MI, Calhoun County, MI, Cass County, MI, Eaton County, MI, Kalamazoo County, MI, Saint Joseph County, MI, Van Buren County, MI
The radar
The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:00 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.
Warnings issued inside it
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 6:25 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | LaPorte | 65 min |
| Jul 5, 6:27 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Allegan, Van Buren | 63 min |
| Jul 5, 7:03 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | Elkhart, Saint Joseph | 42 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 00:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 229 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 604 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -123 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1326 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 50 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 105 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 051058
SEL3
SPC WW 051100
INZ000-MIZ000-LMZ000-051400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 643
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
700 AM EDT SAT JUL 5 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EXTREME NORTHERN INDIANA
SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN
LAKE MICHIGAN
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING FROM 700 AM UNTIL 1000 AM EDT.
HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH OF KALAMAZOO MICHIGAN
TO 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SOUTH BEND INDIANA.
REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 641...WW 642...
DISCUSSION...BOW ECHO COMPLEX NEAR CHICAGO IS EXPECTED TO TRACK
EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN AND MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST LOWER
MI AND NORTHERN IND. STORMS ARE MOVING INTO A MORE STABLE
AIRMASS...SUGGESTING THAT SOME WEAKENING MAY OCCUR.
HOWEVER...STRONG MESOSCALE ORGANIZATION OF SYSTEM AND SURFACE
DEWPOINTS IN THE MID-UPPER 60S WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT A RISK OF
DAMAGING WINDS ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF CONVECTION.
AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.
A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION
VECTOR 27045.
...HART
424,0842 412,0844 412,0870 424,0864SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 4, 8:58 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Benton, Blackford, Carroll, Cass, DeKalb and 23 more | 62 min |
| Jul 4, 10:09 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Allen, Benton, Blackford, Boone, Carroll and 27 more | 2 hr |
| Jul 5, 2:31 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Lake, Newton, Porter | 89 min |
| Jul 5, 3:40 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Lake | 4 hr |
| Jul 5, 5:43 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Fulton, Jasper, Kosciusko and 13 more | 92 min |
| Jul 5, 7:12 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Fulton, Huntington and 10 more | 93 min |
| Jul 5, 12:55 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bartholomew, Benton, Boone, Brown, Clay, Daviess and 21 more | 3 hr |
| Jul 5, 4:34 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain and 13 more | 56 min |
| Jul 5, 4:55 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bartholomew, Benton, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Clay and 35 more | 4 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Michigan, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Indiana, 2003Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.