Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 25, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 15, 1990Craig County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 15, 1990, 8:27 PM EDT for Craig County, Virginia. It was in force for 48 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 1990, 8:27 PM EDT (00:27 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1990, 9:15 PM EDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

County Craig County, VA

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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 158 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1990-05-16Temperature 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1990-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 59 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
NaN m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KROA 160029 RRA
SVRROA
VAC045-160115-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA
827 PM EDT TUE MAY 15 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ROANOKE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  915 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
          ...EASTERN CRAIG
 
WEATHER RADAR SHOWS THAT POSSIBLE LE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  915 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA
          ...EASTERN CRAIG
 
WEATHER RADAR SHOWS THAT POSSIBLE LARGE HAIL IS ACCOMPANYING THIS
THUNDERSTORM.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPARjE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND
DEADLY LIGHTNING.  PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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, May 15, 7:00 PM EDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
VAZ009-014-015-162100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA
315 PM EDT WED MAY 16 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ACROSS SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...

AT 300 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEATHER RADAR INDICATES
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING ALONG THE WESTERN
SLOPES OF THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS. THE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED
FROM JUST EAST OF ROANOKE SOUTHWEST TO SOUTHERN FLOYD COUNTY. THE
STRONGEST STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR THE CITY OF ROANOKE WITH SOME
SMALL HAIL BEING REPORTED.

THE STORMS WILL BE DRIFTING SLOWLY TO THE EAST OVER THE NEXT COUPLE
OF HOURS.  PEOPLE OVER WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHCENTRAL VIRGINIA SHOULD
BE PREPARED FOR SOME GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL AND BRIEF BUT HEAVY
DOWNPOURS DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE AFTERNOON.  STAY TUNED TO
RADIO AND TV SOURCES FOR LATER UPDATES OR WARNINGS SHOULD THEY BE
NECESSARY...AND REMEMBER...PLEASE...DON'T DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED
ROADWAYS!

HM

The office that day

Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 8:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKCraig2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990

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.