Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 71, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 22, 1997, 1:13 PM EDT for Montgomery County, Virginia. It was in force for 67 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 22, 1997, 1:13 PM EDT (17:13 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 22, 1997, 2:20 PM EDT
- In force
- 67 min
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Montgomery County, VA
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 19 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:15 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 22, 1:15 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Christiansburg, VA |
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
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 5.2 hours before the alert went out and 79 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
- 621 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -70 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 848 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 21 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 22 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 30 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
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.
NWS Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 22, 9:05 AM EDT, 4 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 22, 9:05 AM EDT, 4 hours 8 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 905 AM EDT TUE JUL 22 1997 TONS O MOISTR IN THE AIR THIS MORNING WITH STAT FRONT ACRS NRN VA TO FOCUS THE BULK OF THE ACTION LATER TDA. NGM BRINGS THE FRONT INTO SOUTHERN VA THIS AFTN AS ETA KEEPS IT UP NORTH. ANYBODYS GUESS ON WHERE THE FRONT ENDS UP LATER TDAY ALTHOUGH THE SFC HIGH IN CANADA IS IN A PRETTY GOOD POSITION TO PUSH IT SOUTH A LTL. ANYWAY CRNT POPS IN THE 50-70 RANGE. SEE NO REASON TO MESS WITH THEM MUCH. HIGH SFC DWPTS AND LOTS OF CU SHUD KEEP MAX TEMPS SOMEWHAT UNDER CONTROL TDA. L-M 80S IN THE MTNS...85-90 EAST OF THE MTNS LKS GOOD. JDS
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 22, 12:15 PM EDT, 58 minutes before
NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058- 059-WVZ042>045-231200- THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 1215 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1997 ...ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... DUE TO AN EXTREMELY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME NUMEROUS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. THE GREATEST THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAINS...ALTHOUGH ISOLATED STORMS COULD PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. KK/JDS
Special weather statement, Jul 22, 12:16 PM EDT, 57 minutes before
NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058- 059-WVZ042>045-231200- THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 1215 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1997 ...ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... DUE TO AN EXTREMELY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME NUMEROUS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. THE GREATEST THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAINS...ALTHOUGH ISOLATED STORMS COULD PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING.b STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. KK/JDS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 1:13 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Montgomery | 52 min |
| Jul 22, 1:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Amherst | 52 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 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.