Alert archive / Michigan / Winter Storm Watches in 2011

Winter Storm Watch 2, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

February 18, 201123 counties in Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this winter storm watch at Feb 18, 2011, 3:54 PM EST for 23 counties in Michigan. It took effect at Feb 20, 2011, 7:00 AM EST. It was in force for .

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 18, 2011, 3:54 PM EST (20:54 UTC)
In effect from
Feb 20, 2011, 7:00 AM EST
Expired
Feb 19, 2011, 4:09 PM EST
In force
Issued by
NWS Grand Rapids, MI
All 23 counties

Allegan County, MI, Barry County, MI, Calhoun County, MI, Clare County, MI, Clinton County, MI, Eaton County, MI, Gratiot County, MI, Ingham County, MI, Ionia County, MI, Isabella County, MI, Jackson County, MI, Kalamazoo County, MI, Kent County, MI, Lake County, MI, Mason County, MI, Mecosta County, MI, Montcalm County, MI, Muskegon County, MI, Newaygo County, MI, Oceana County, MI, Osceola County, MI, Ottawa County, MI, Van Buren County, MI

The radar

The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:00 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 165 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 12:00Z on 2011-02-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2011-02-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2222 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
82 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this winter storm watch went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Rapids, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before this winter storm watch went out at Feb 18, 3:30 PM EST, 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 18, 3:30 PM EST, 24 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 18, 6:05 AM EST, 9 hours 49 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
605 AM EST FRI FEB 18 2011

MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-191115-
MASON-LAKE-OSCEOLA-CLARE-OCEANA-NEWAYGO-MECOSTA-ISABELLA-MUSKEGON-
MONTCALM-GRATIOT-OTTAWA-KENT-IONIA-CLINTON-ALLEGAN-BARRY-EATON-
INGHAM-VAN BUREN-KALAMAZOO-CALHOUN-JACKSON-
605 AM EST FRI FEB 18 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER
MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WINDS GUSTING OVER 40 MPH MAY CAUSE SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES TODAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

HEAVY SNOW AND FREEZING RAIN COULD ICE UP THE ROADS ON SUNDAY AND
INTO THE MONDAY MORNING COMMUTE. ANOTHER STORM COULD DROP SNOW AND
FREEZING RAIN ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

LMZ844>849-191115-
ST JOSEPH TO SOUTH HAVEN MI-SOUTH HAVEN TO HOLLAND MI-
HOLLAND TO GRAND HAVEN MI-GRAND HAVEN TO WHITEHALL MI-
WHITEHALL TO PENTWATER MI-PENTWATER TO MANISTEE MI-
605 AM EST FRI FEB 18 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER
MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WEST GALES TO 40 KNOTS AND WAVES TO 10 FEET WILL POSE A HAZARD TO
MARINERS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

WINDS AND WAVES WILL POSE A HAZARD TO SMALL CRAFT OVER THE WEEKEND
AND INTO NEXT WEEK.

OSTUNO

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 18, 1:07 PM EST, 2 hours 47 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
107 PM EST FRI FEB 18 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0100 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 N WALKER              43.03N 85.76W
02/18/2011  M37 MPH          KENT               MI   COUNTY OFFICIAL

&&

HOVING
Local storm report, Feb 18, 1:24 PM EST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
124 PM EST FRI FEB 18 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0116 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST EAST GRAND RAPIDS       42.94N 85.61W
02/18/2011  M45 MPH          KENT               MI   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

WFELVER
Local storm report, Feb 18, 2:09 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 18, 2:19 PM EST, 1 hour 35 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 18, 2:37 PM EST, 1 hour 17 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 18, 2:39 PM EST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 18, 3:44 AM ESTWind AdvisoryGRRAllegan, Barry, Calhoun, Clare, Clinton, Eaton and 17 more20 hr
Feb 18, 1:35 PM ESTRiver Flood AdvisoryGRRIonia56 hr
Feb 18, 1:35 PM ESTRiver Flood AdvisoryGRRClinton21 hr
Feb 18, 1:35 PM ESTRiver Flood AdvisoryGRRKalamazoo44 hr

Nearby

Winter Storm Watches in Michigan, 2011Every winter storm watch in 2011

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.