Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 130, NWS Charleston, WV

August 17, 1997Mason County, Putnam County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 17, 1997, 3:09 PM EDT for Mason County, Putnam County, West Virginia. It was in force for 66 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 17, 1997, 3:09 PM EDT (19:09 UTC)
Expired
Aug 17, 1997, 4:15 PM EDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Mason County, WV, Putnam County, WV

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 17, 3:45 PM EDTThunderstorm WindAshton, WV
Aug 17, 4:00 PM EDTThunderstorm WindBuffalo, WV

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 17, 1:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 181 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 1997-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 39 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 1997-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 51 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
39 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-211 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
934 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
131 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCRW 171910 RRA
SVRCRW
WVC053-079-172015-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
309 PM EDT SUN AUG 17 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  415 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...S...
 
IN WEST WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...SOUTHERN MASON COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...NORTHERN PUTNAM COUNTY
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN WESTERN CABELL COUNTY WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHERN
MASON AND NORTHERN PUTNAM COUNTIES IN THE NEXT HOUR. VERY STRONG WINDS
OVER 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH LARGE HAIL.
 
<< CALL TO ACTION >> SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND
IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND
VERY HEAVY RAIN.FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS
QUICKLY SO DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.6

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 17, 1:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWood57 min
Aug 17, 2:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMason44 min
Aug 17, 2:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXJackson44 min
Aug 17, 3:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXCabell60 min
Aug 17, 4:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXClay, Roane49 min
Aug 17, 4:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXCabell, Mason60 min
Aug 17, 4:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWayne60 min
Aug 17, 4:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBraxton52 min
Aug 17, 4:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXJackson, Lincoln, Putnam55 min
Aug 17, 4:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWebster63 min
Aug 17, 4:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXKanawha63 min
Aug 17, 5:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXRandolph, Upshur58 min
Aug 17, 5:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXClay, Nicholas51 min
Aug 17, 5:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXRaleigh51 min
Aug 17, 6:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBoone52 min
Aug 17, 6:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXWyoming42 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in West Virginia, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.