Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 67, NWS Charleston, WV

July 2, 1997Mason County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 2, 1997, 9:09 PM EDT for Mason County, West Virginia. It was in force for 51 min. 1 report 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
Jul 2, 1997, 9:09 PM EDT (01:09 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 1997, 10:00 PM EDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

County Mason County, WV

The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:26 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 2, 9:35 PM EDTThunderstorm WindHallwood, WVA church had its steeple and roof damaged. Numerous trees were downed in the vicinity.

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
Jul 2, 8:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 170 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 00:00Z on 1997-07-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1249 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 00:00Z on 1997-07-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 153 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1249 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-137 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1159 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
153 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
255 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 KCRW 030110 RRA
SVRCRW
WVC053-030200-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
909 PM EDT WED JUL 2 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION......
 
IN WEST WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...MASON COUNTY
 
CHARLESTON RADAR HAS INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MIEGS COUNTY
OHIO..WHICH WILL BE ENTERING MASON COUNTY BETWEEN POINT PLEASANT AND
MASON WITHIN 15 MINUTES.
 
<< CALL TO ACTION >> THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS
PATH YOU SHOULD PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...
LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING.  PEOPLE OURTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A S
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
 
 
END/SIKORA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 2, 9:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXPutnam49 min
Jul 2, 9:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXJackson53 min
Jul 2, 9:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXKanawha55 min
Jul 2, 10:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLincoln, Wayne45 min
Jul 2, 10:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLogan40 min
Jul 2, 11:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMingo44 min
Jul 2, 11:18 PM EDTTornado WarningRLXMingo27 min
Jul 2, 11:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMcDowell, Wyoming51 min
Jul 3, 12:24 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXMingo3 hr
Jul 3, 12:41 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXMcDowell3 hr

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.