Alert archive / Michigan / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 522

July 25, 201215 counties in Michigan

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jul 25, 2012, 9:47 PM EDT for 15 counties in Michigan. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 25, 2012, 9:47 PM EDT (01:47 UTC)
Expired
Jul 26, 2012, 3:51 AM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Bay County, MI, Genesee County, MI, Huron County, MI, Lapeer County, MI, Livingston County, MI, Macomb County, MI, Midland County, MI, Oakland County, MI, Saginaw County, MI, Saint Clair County, MI, Sanilac County, MI, Shiawassee County, MI, Tuscola County, MI, Washtenaw County, MI, Wayne County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:49 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.

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
80%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
70%
Ten or more severe hail reports
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
95%

Warnings issued inside it

8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 25, 10:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXBay, Midland40 min
Jul 25, 11:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXHuron, Sanilac, Tuscola93 min
Jul 25, 11:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXBay, Midland, Saginaw95 min
Jul 26, 12:13 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXSanilac, Tuscola62 min
Jul 26, 12:31 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXHuron, Tuscola54 min
Jul 26, 12:48 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLapeer, Saint Clair, Sanilac72 min
Jul 26, 1:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXGenesee, Lapeer, Shiawassee62 min
Jul 26, 1:37 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXMacomb, Oakland, Saint Clair47 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, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 71 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 2012-07-26Temperature 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 00:00Z on 2012-07-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 226 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1843 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
226 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
373 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

702 
WWUS20 KWNS 260148
SEL2
SPC WW 260148
MIZ000-LHZ000-260900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 522
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
950 PM EDT WED JUL 25 2012

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

       EASTERN LOWER MICHIGAN
       LAKE HURON

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 950 PM
UNTIL 500 AM EDT.

HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60
STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF
BAD AXE MICHIGAN TO 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ANN ARBOR MICHIGAN.
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).

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 518...WW 519...WW 520...

DISCUSSION...COMPLEX MCS EVOLUTION IS ONGOING TONIGHT ACROSS
PORTIONS OF LAKE MI INTO NWRN LOWER MI.  AHEAD OF THIS ACTIVITY...A
STRENGTHENING NOCTURNAL LOW-LEVEL WIND MAXIMUM WILL ENHANCE THE EWD
ADVECTION OF THERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT SAMPLED BY 00Z GRB SOUNDING
INTO THE REGION.  AT THE SAME TIME...DEEP WLY/WNWLY FLOW WILL
STRENGTHEN WITH SETUP BECOMING INCREASINGLY SUPPORTIVE OF A
WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WIND EVENT.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 29040.


...MEAD

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 25, 9:28 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArenac, Bay, Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee and 34 more92 min
Jul 26, 12:09 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArenac, Bay, Clare, Clinton, Genesee, Gladwin and 26 more96 min
Jul 26, 2:40 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegan, Barry, Bay, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun and 41 more65 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Michigan, 2012Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2012

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.