Alert archive / West Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this tornado warning at May 23, 1988, 6:18 PM EDT for Clay County, Kanawha County, Roane County, West Virginia. It was in force for 27 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 23, 1988, 6:18 PM EDT (22:18 UTC)
- Expired
- May 23, 1988, 6:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 27 min
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Clay County, WV, Kanawha 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, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 104 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- NaN m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 38 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 29 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KCRW 232218
TORCRW
WVC087-015-039-232245-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
618 PM EDT MON MAY 23 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 645 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES
IN THE WEST CENTRAL PART OF WEST VIRGINIA
SOUTHERN ROANE...CLAY...NORTHEAST KANAWHA
A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED BY THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES
NEAR CLENDENIN WEST VIRGINIA MOVING NORTHEASTWARD.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS IN
A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...FIND SHELTER IN AN INTER+IOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.
REZEKWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, May 23, 4:13 PM EDT, 2 hours 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, ELKINS WV 4:15 EDT MON MAY 23 1988 AT 4:10 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS..DANGEROUS LIGHTING.. POSSIBLE HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES OR A WARNING IS ISSUED TAKE SHELTER DON'T BE CAUGHT OUTSIDE IN A THUNDERSTORM. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL BROADCAST FOR FURTHER STATkEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. END/ALP
Special weather statement, May 23, 4:58 PM EDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BECKLEY WV 500 PM EDT MON MAY 23 1988 THE WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 455 PM SHOWED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH SOUTHWEST AND WESTERN COUNTIES OF WEST VIRGINIA. HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE NEAR WILLIAMSON IN MINGO COUNTY...OVER NORTHERN LOGAN COUNTY AND NEAR GRUNDY AND DWIGHT VIRGINIA IN BUCHANAN COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT AROUND 35 MILES AN HOUR. THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...CAUSING SOME SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING. ALSO HAIL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE. PERSONS SHOULD SEEK SAFE INDOOR SHELTER AS THIS THUNDERSTORM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. END/FUNDERBURK
Special weather statement, May 23, 5:04 PM EDT, 1 hour 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BECKLEY WV 500 PM EDT MON MAY 23 1988 THE WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 455 PM SHOWED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH SOUTHWEST AND WESTERN COUNTIES OF WEST VIRGINIA. HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE NEAR WILLIAMSON IN MINGO COUNTY...OVER NORTHERN LOGAN COUNTY AND NEAR GRUNDY AND DWIGHT VIRGINIA IN BUCHANAN COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT AROUND 35 MILES AN HOUR. THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...CAUSING SOME SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING. ALSO HAIL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE. PERSONS SHOULD SEEK SAFE INDOOR SHELTER AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. END/FUNDERBURK
Special weather statement, May 23, 5:40 PM EDT, 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 540 PM EDT MON MAY 23 1988 A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTROMS IS DEVELOPING IN SOUTHEAST OHIO AND IS MOVING EASTWARD. DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CROSS INTO WESTERN COUNTIES IN WEST VIRGINIA AROUND 6PM. THEY WILL BE CROSSING CABLE...MASON...JACKSON...AND WOOD COUNTIES BETWEEN 6 AND 8 PM. ELSEWHERE THE WEATHER RADAR SHOWS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER LINCOLN AND BOONE COUNTIES. END AAR
The office that day
Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 3:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Kanawha, Roane | 64 min |
| May 23, 3:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Clay | 54 min |
| May 23, 4:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Braxton | 67 min |
| May 23, 5:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Lewis, Upshur | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in West Virginia, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988
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.