Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Watches in 2015

Tornado Watch 48

April 9, 20157 counties in Michigan

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 9, 2015, 7:11 PM EDT for 7 counties in Michigan. It was in force for 98 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 9, 2015, 7:11 PM EDT (23:11 UTC)
Expired
Apr 9, 2015, 8:49 PM EDT
In force
98 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Lenawee County, MI, Livingston County, MI, Macomb County, MI, Monroe County, MI, Oakland County, MI, Washtenaw County, MI, Wayne County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:14 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
10%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
50%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 9, 7:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXWashtenaw, Wayne38 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 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 44 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 2015-04-09Temperature 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 2015-04-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 39 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
734 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
39 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
179 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.

600 
WWUS20 KWNS 092308
SEL8  
SPC WW 092308
MIZ000-LEZ000-100300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 48
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
710 PM EDT THU APR 9 2015

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN
  LAKE ERIE

* EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY EVENING FROM 710 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 40 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST OF ANN ARBOR
MICHIGAN TO 20 MILES SOUTH OF MOUNT CLEMENS MICHIGAN.  FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND 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.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 39...WW 40...WW 41...WW
42...WW 43...WW 44...WW 45...WW 46...WW 47...

DISCUSSION...SEVERAL SMALL SUPERCELL STORMS HAVE FORMED ALONG THE
WARM FRONT OVER LOWER MI.  STRONG LOW LEVEL VERTICAL SHEAR AND
MARGINAL INSTABILITY WILL POSE A RISK OF HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...OR
PERHAPS A TORNADO OR TWO FROM THESE STORMS THIS EVENING.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND 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
450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.


...HART

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 9, 6:20 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegan, Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Eaton and 10 more85 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Michigan, 2015Every tornado watch in 2015

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.