Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 55, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 26, 1986, 4:15 PM EDT for Calhoun County, Jackson County, Roane County, West Virginia. It was in force for 75 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 26, 1986, 4:15 PM EDT (20:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 26, 1986, 5:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 75 min
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Calhoun County, WV, Jackson County, WV, Roane County, WV
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Huntington/Tri S, WV (KHTS), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 108 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
- 2292 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 916 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 129 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 117 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 3.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCRW 262020 SVRCRW WVC035-087-013-021-262145- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 415 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES NORTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA...JACKSON..ROANE..CALHOUN..GILMER AT 415 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVING THROUGH JACSON COUNTY AND ONE MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN CALHOUN COUNTY TO THE EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS..HEAVY DOWNPOURS..HAIL ...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES. < IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..SEEK REINFORCED SHELTER IMMEDIATEdLY. IF POSSIBLE..ASK THE NEARBY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO RELAY YOUR SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON WV. END/BRUMER
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 3:17 PM EDT, 58 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 315 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 1986 THUNDERSTORMS FROM NORTHEAST KENTUCKY ARE SPREADING INTO WEST VIRGINIA. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM JACKSON KY THROUGH HUNTINGTON WV TO WESTON WV IS MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY AND ARE QUITE VIGOROUS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS ARE JUST NORTH OF SUTTON WV..IN OHIO WEST OF SOUTHERN WAYNE COUNTY..AND IN KENTUCKY WEST OF MASON COUNTY. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO..PEOPLE IN WAYNE..MASON..BRAXTON..AND LEWIS COUNTIES CAN EXPECT RAPIDLY DARKENING SKIES TO BE FOLLOWED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING..STRONG GUSTY WIND..VERY HEAVY RAIN..AND HAIL. END/PARKE
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 3:20 PM EDT, 55 minutes before
^CRWSPSEKN SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE - ELKINS, WV 320 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 1986 ...VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL..NORTHERN AND EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA... AT 310 PM EDT RADAR SHOWED A CLUSTER SHOWERS AND VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL COUNTIES OF GILMER..BRAXTON AND LEWIS IN WEST VIRGINIA. OTHER SHOWERS AND VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER MUCH OF THE POTOMAC HIGHLANDS OF WEST VIRGINIA EXTENDING SOUTHWEST OVER AND ALONG THE WEST VIRGINIA-VIRGINIA BORDER TO NEAR UNION IN MONROE COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 15 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR. THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY WAS NEAR AND WEST OF GLENVILLE IN GILMER COUNTY. PERSONS LIVING IN OR TRAVELING THROUGH THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR STRONG GUSTY WINDS..PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL IN AND NEAR THESE THUNDERSTORMS. IF HEAVY RAIN PERSISTS IN YOUR AREA ..BE ON THE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY RISING WATERS ON SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF NECESSARY. ELSEWHERE..SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER CENTRAL AND WESTERN SECTIONS OF WEST VIRGINIA..OVER SOUTHEASTERN OHIO AND OVER EASTERN KENTUCKY. AS TH ESE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP..SOME WILL LIKELY MOVE ACROSS OUR AREA LATER THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL BROADCASTS FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS IF CONDITIONS WARRANT. FERRELL
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 3:25 PM EDT, 50 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 315 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 1986 THUNDERSTORMS FROM NORTHEAST KENTUCKY AND OHIO ARE SPREADING INTO WEST VIRGINIA. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM JACKSON KY THROUGH HUNTINGTON WV TO WESTON WV IS MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY AND ARE QUITE VIGOROUS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS ARE JUST NORTH OF SUTTON WV..IN KENTUCKY WEST OF SOUTHERN WAYNE COUNTY..AND IN OHIO WEST OF MASON COUNTY. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO..PEOPLE IN WAYNE..MASON..BRAXTON..AND LEWIS COUNTIES CAN EXPECT RAPIDLY DARKENING SKIES TO BE FOLLOWED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING. .STRONG GUSTY WIND..VERY HEAVY RAIN..AND HAIL. END/PARKE
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 3:28 PM EDT, 47 minutes before
^CRWSPSHTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTINGTON WV SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT 210 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 1986 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST KENTUCKY AND SOUTHERN OHIO... AT 330 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SCATTERED OVER NORTHESST KENTUCKY AND SOUTHERN OHIO MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. A STRONG STORM IN LAWRENCE COUNTY OHIO WILL CROSS GALLIA COUNTY INTO MASON COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA BY 430 PM. A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS WEAKENING IN LAWRENCE COUNTY KENTUCKY. THIS STORM WILL CROSS WAYNE COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA BY 430 PM. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS DEVELOPING IN WEST CARTER COUNTY KENTUCKY. STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...DOWNPOURS AND POSSIBLE HAIL MAY ACCOMPANY THES E STORMS. PLEASE STAY TUNDED TO RADIO OR TV FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE HANEY
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 3:31 PM EDT, 44 minutes before
^CRWSPSHTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTINGTON WV SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT 310 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 1986 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST KENTUCKY AND SOUTHERN OHIO... AT 330 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SCATTERED OVER NORTHESST KENTUCKY AND SOUTHERN OHIO MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. A STRONG STORM IN LAWRENCE COUNTY OHIO WILL CROSS GALLIA COUNTY INTO MASON COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA BY 430 PM. A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS WEAKENING IN LAWRENCE COUNTY KENTUCKY. THIS STORM WILL CROSS WAYNE COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA BY 430 PM. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS DEVELOPING IN WEST CARTER COUNTY KENTUCKY. STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...DOWNPOURS AND POSSIBLE HAIL MAY ACCOMPANY 0THESE STORMS. PLEASE STAY TUNDED TO RADIO OR TV FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE HANEY
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 4:06 PM EDT, 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 410 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 1986 THUNDERSTORMS WERE STILL IN THE GROWING STAGE OVER WEST VIRGINIA AND SCATTERED OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES. THE HEAVIEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN MASON COUNTY..NORTHERN CALHOUN COUNTY..AND NORTHERN CLAY TO SOUTHERN BRAXTON COUNTY. RESIDENTS OF THESE COUNTIES AND NEIGHBORING COUNTIES TO THEIR EAST SHOULD BE ALERT FOR STRONG STO`RM ACTIVITY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. EXPECT STRONG GUSTY WINDS..VERY HEAVY RAIN..AND PROBABLY HAIL ALONG WITH VIVID LIGHTNING DISPLAYS. END/BRUMER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 4:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Gilmer | 75 min |
| Jul 26, 4:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Webster | 45 min |
| Jul 26, 4:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Braxton, Clay | 35 min |
| Jul 26, 5:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Webster | 40 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in West Virginia, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986
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.