Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1995

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 175, NWS Charleston, WV

August 18, 1995McDowell County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 18, 1995, 5:48 PM EDT for McDowell County, West Virginia. It was in force for 57 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 18, 1995, 5:48 PM EDT (21:48 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 1995, 6:45 PM EDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

County McDowell County, WV

The nearest sounding before it

Huntington/Tri S, WV (KHTS), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 133 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, Huntington/Tri S, WV at 12:00Z on 1995-08-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1014 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Huntington/Tri S, WV at 12:00Z on 1995-08-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 23 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1014 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-42 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
740 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCRW 182148 RRA
SVRCRW
WVC047-182245-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
548 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION......
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...MCDOWELL COUNTY
 
AT 545 PM...RADAR INDICATED TWO POSSIBLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER
MCDOWELL COUNTY...ONE JUST NORTH OF IAEGER AND ANOTHER JUST SOUTH OF
GARY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
 
THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND TORRENTIAL
DOWNPOURS.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER I2N A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.
 
REYNOLDS

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, Aug 18, 1:04 PM EDT, 4 hours 44 minutes before
WVZ046-181900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
105 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 1995

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CONTINUES OVER SOUTHERN POCAHONTAS COUNTY.

AT 100 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 5
MILES WEST OF MARLINTON IN SOUTHERN POCAHONTAS COUNTY.  THIS STORM
HAS BEEN NEARLY STATIONARY SINCE AROUND NOONTIME.

RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES AROUND 2 INCHES ARE COMMON WITH THIS STORM.
ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED OVERFLOW OF
STREAMS AND CREEKS.

REYNOLDS
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 1:05 PM EDT, 4 hours 43 minutes before
WVZ046-181900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
105 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 1995

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CONTINUES OVER SOUTHERN POCAHONTAS COUNTY.

AT 100 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 5
MILES WEST OF MARLINTON IN SOUTHERN POCAHONTAS COUNTY.  THIS STORM
HAS BEEN NEARLY STATIONARY SINCE AROUND NOONTIME.

RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES AROUND 2 INCHES ARE COMMON WITH THIS STORM.
ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED OVERFLOW OF
STREAMS AND CREEKS.

REYNOLDS
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 2:58 PM EDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before
WVZ046-182100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
300 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 1995

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS PARTS OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY...

AT 255 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE
PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE
COUNTY.  MOST OF THE HEAVIER RAINFALL HAS SHIFTED TO THE WESTERN
PORTION OF THE COUNTY.  THE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTH AT ABOUT 10 TO
15 MPH.

RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES OVER PARTS OF THIS AREA ARE ABOVE 3
INCHES...ESPECIALLY WEST OF MARLINTON.  STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL
EXPERIENCE QUICK RISES AND SOME LOCALIZED FLOODING IS POSSIBLE.

THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF THE COUNTY BY 500 PvM.

REYNOLDS
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 3:00 PM EDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before
WVZ046-182100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
300 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 1995

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS PARTS OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY...

AT 255 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE
PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE
COUNTY.  MOST OF THE HEAVIER RAINFALL HAS SHIFTED TO THE WESTERN
PORTION OF THE COUNTY.  THE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTH AT ABOUT 10 TO
15 MPH.

RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES OVER PARTS OF THIS AREA ARE ABOVE 3
INCHES...ESPECIALLY WEST OF MARLINTON.  STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL
EXPERIENCE QUICK RISES AND SOME LOCALIZED FLOODING IS POSSIBLE.

THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF THE COUNTY BY 500 PM.

REYNOLDS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 4:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMingo49 min
Aug 18, 6:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWayne47 min
Aug 18, 6:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLincoln45 min
Aug 18, 7:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLogan57 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in West Virginia, 1995Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1995

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.