Tornado warning for Washtenaw County canceled
Editor's note: The tornado warning has been canceled as of 6:32 p.m.
A tornado warning has been issued for northern Washtenaw County and southern Livingston County until 7 p.m. Tuesday the National Weather says.
This radar image shows the tornado warning area in red.
The warning area includes Salem Township, Whitmore Lake, Pinckney, Hamburg, Gregory and Brighton.
The weather service said an actual tornado had not been spotted, but radar had indicated rotation in the storm.
The weather service said damage to roofs, windows and vehicles is possible. Flying debris could be deadly to people and animals and tree damage is likely. Mobile homes could also be damaged or destroyed.
The weather service advised residents to take cover, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of sturdy building and avoid windows. Those in mobile homes, vehicles or outdoors were advised to move to the closest substantial shelter.
Warning sirens could be heard in Ann Arbor, Dexter and Chelsea around 6 p.m.
Comments
Usual Suspect
Wed, May 29, 2013 : 1:40 a.m.
Visual confirmation is not required for a warning to be issued anymore. A rotation signature on radar is enough, because from that stage they can be on the ground in a couple minutes, and cause damage even before they're on the ground. Sometimes tornadoes can be wrapped in rain and very hard to spot with the eye, even for trained spotters. Night provides obvious limitations to visual confirmation. During work hours, and when there isn't a tornado watch in effect, most trained spotters are at work, not driving around providing eyes for the rest of us. If you want to have better information at your disposal during these times, sign up for severe weather alerts form wunderground.com or weather.com. You can also obtain a scanner radio and listen in to the weather spotters yourself. In most counties, scanner traffic is available on broadcastify.com. Any of these options will give you more detailed information about the location of the storm cell in question and what direction it is heading. This is nice, because then, for example, if you live in Dexter and you hear the storm is in Milan and moving east, you know you are not in danger. To understand more of this, I suggest taking advantage of the free weather spotter training offered each spring by the county.
MichU
Wed, May 29, 2013 : 12:08 a.m.
We heard them at Forsythe middle school; a tornado had been spotted near Leslie north of Jackson and was moving East.
a2citizen
Wed, May 29, 2013 : 1:54 a.m.
dave, i think it's true...I read about it on the internet.
barefootdave
Wed, May 29, 2013 : 12:16 a.m.
I'm gonna go ahead and call b.s. on a sighting.
IWantMyCityBack
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 11:57 p.m.
Strange, the warning was for 'northern Washtenaw county and southern Livingston county...' I don't believe Ann Arbor was in imminent danger, especially given the storm and city track NOAA mentioned in their warning. Why run the City's warning sirens? They're just 'crying wolf' again. Back in the day when Ann Arbor's first tornado sirens were installed the emergency managers said the sirens would not be activated unless Ann Arbor was in imminent danger.
Paul
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 11:10 p.m.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling, lol
garrisondyer
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 11:14 p.m.
That's just your rocking chair carrying you higher and higher.
kittybkahn
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 10:50 p.m.
We are on the Old West Side and never heard any sirens. The EAS did take over our TV though. It would be nice if they could just have the warnings at the top of the screen instead of taking over the whole thing. The same thing happens with their monthly tests.
Usual Suspect
Wed, May 29, 2013 : 1:47 a.m.
First world problems
tdw
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 10:58 p.m.
I agree.Also for some reason their tests seem to happen right when something critical is about to be shown on a tv show
Tex Treeder
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 10:45 p.m.
I have to echo barefootdave's comment. Isn't a warning when a tornado has actually been sighted? It seems to me that people ignore "warnings" more often now than previously since they know that it's really a "watch" instead.
Ann Dwyer
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 10:26 p.m.
Our sirens are off here in Dexter. Maybe it's moving down the line.
Ryan J. Stanton
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 10:24 p.m.
I was just up on the north side of Ann Arbor off Pontiac Trail about 10 minutes ago and sirens were going off. Hope you and yours are playing it safe and seeking shelter!
barefootdave
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 10:22 p.m.
Since when is "favorable conditions" a warning not a watch?
Karen John
Thu, Aug 29, 2013 : 12:59 p.m.
Dave, the watch means the elements that produce the structures that make the storms are percolating in the atmosphere. A warning means those structures are in place. Your point about desensitising the public is one that weighs heavy on those who issue warnings, and the emergency management personnel who muster their resources in response. Warnings based on radar make for more time to respond, of course. The problem on the warning side is that in many cases, without independent verification (Skywarn Volunteers, local law enforcement, or public reports) it is nearly impossible to know whether the rotations in a supercell thunderstorm (or other storm) have dropped a funnel for certain, or not. The differences are not significant at this time, but they can change VERY quickly, without a notable change at first. By the time you see evidence of a tornado on the ground, people are already in grave danger, without adequate time to respond. (Especially if you see a huge hook or debris ball on radar, people may have died from what will be a huge, very dangerous storm.) As an example of the gaps in our knowledge, at 12:50 am Wednesday, August 28, 2013 an EF0 tornado dropped west of Brighton and did some damage. It was unwarned by the Weather Service, but confirmed Wed. with a damage survey. Dave, I'd like to encourage you to consider Skywarn Spotter training this coming spring. Your eyes on the sky will help generate accurate on-the-ground reports and these can make a huge difference in warning safety. I'm proud to be one, myself.
barefootdave
Wed, May 29, 2013 : 12:25 a.m.
I can appreciate your situation and I love new technology but, perhaps your venue should adjust its response levels rather that changing the rules for everyone.
Rob MI
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 11:28 p.m.
Duly noted, barefootdave--but when you're responsible for the evacuation of a public facility as I am during situations like this, the extra time created under this scenario is appreciated in the interest of public safety.
barefootdave
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 11:18 p.m.
Also it is still favorable conditions not imminent danger.
barefootdave
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 11:15 p.m.
Well that explains it however it still desensitizes me to the siren.
Rob MI
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 11:05 p.m.
GAAA. The FORMER (rotation visible in radar) is enough to issue a warning. Before this, warnings were only issued when rotation or a funnel was actually visually confirmed (the latter), cutting lead time significantly.
Rob MI
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 11:02 p.m.
Rotation visible in radar echoes issued by the National Weather Service (the condition that prompted this warning) or confirmed sightings of cloud rotation by law enforcement or SKYWARN spotters are reason enough to issue a warning. Warnings based on the latter provide much more lead time than waiting for a funnel to actually form and can save lives (like it did just last week in Moore, OK). Unfortunately, this can also create a "boy who cried wolf" effect when there doesn't appear to be any imminent danger because no actual funnel has been spotted.
Rugeirn Drienborough
Tue, May 28, 2013 : 10:20 p.m.
Weather sirens went off, audible to me near Buhr Park as of about five-ten minutes ago.