Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 98, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 28, 1997, 4:39 PM EDT for Wirt County, West Virginia. It was in force for 36 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 28, 1997, 4:39 PM EDT (20:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 28, 1997, 5:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 36 min
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Whole counties
County Wirt County, WV
The radar
The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:39 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 4:41 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Elizabeth, 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 nearest sounding before it
Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 189 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
- 448 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -84 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 813 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 21 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCRW 282040 RRA SVRCRW WVC105-282115- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 439 PM EDT MON JUL 28 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 515 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...... IN NORTHWEST WEST VIRGINIA ...WIRT COUNTY AT 437 PM RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVING INTO WIRT COUNTY. THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL AS IT MOVES TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. << 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 DEADLYN LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. END/JAP
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, Jul 28, 2:57 PM EDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
OHZ076-282000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 257 PM EDT MON JUL 28 1997 RADAR INDICATES STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WESTERN...CENTRAL... AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY. THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL..WINDS GUSTING TO 40 MPH...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINS WHICH CAUSE MINOR DRAINAGE PROBLEMS....ESPECIALLY ON AREA ROADS. END/PACKETT
Special weather statement, Jul 28, 3:01 PM EDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before
OHZ076-282000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 257 PM EDT MON JUL 28 1997 RADAR INDICATES STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WESTERN...CENTRAL... AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF WASHIN GTON COUNTY. THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL..WINDS GUSTING TO 40 MPH...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINS WHICH CAUSE MINOR DRAINAGE PROBLEMS....ESPECIALLY ON AREA ROADS. END/PACKETT
The office that day
Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 8:18 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RLX | Wood | 3 hr |
| Jul 27, 8:24 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RLX | Wood | 3 hr |
| Jul 27, 9:04 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Jackson | 26 min |
| Jul 27, 9:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Jackson | 24 min |
| Jul 27, 9:48 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Roane | 42 min |
| Jul 27, 10:06 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Kanawha | 39 min |
| Jul 27, 10:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Webster | 36 min |
| Jul 28, 3:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Tyler | 45 min |
| Jul 28, 3:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Pleasants | 27 min |
| Jul 28, 3:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Wood | 33 min |
| Jul 28, 3:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Ritchie | 49 min |
| Jul 28, 3:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Harrison | 46 min |
| Jul 28, 4:52 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Mason | 38 min |
| Jul 28, 4:58 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Gilmer | 47 min |
| Jul 28, 5:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Jackson | 52 min |
| Jul 28, 5:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Cabell | 45 min |
| Jul 28, 5:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Putnam | 67 min |
| Jul 28, 6:06 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Kanawha | 54 min |
| Jul 28, 6:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Kanawha | 45 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.