Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 7, NWS Wakefield, VA

February 17, 1998Louisa County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 17, 1998, 8:42 PM EST for Louisa County, Virginia. It was in force for 33 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
Feb 17, 1998, 8:42 PM EST (01:42 UTC)
Expired
Feb 17, 1998, 9:15 PM EST
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Wakefield, VA
Area
Whole counties

County Louisa County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:43 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
Feb 17, 8:55 PM ESTHail 0.88Cuckoo, VA
Feb 17, 8:58 PM ESTTornado F1Bumpass, VAA tornado tracked through a forested area south of Route 652 and west of Route 650. Tornado lifted as it crossed Route 652 just east of the Oakleigh subdivision. Numerous trees were uprooted along the tornado path.

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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 00:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 119 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1998-02-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 1998-02-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 390 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-197 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
513 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
77 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
390 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
445 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wakefield, VA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 17, 7:02 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQFluvanna33 min
Feb 17, 7:47 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQCumberland, Goochland33 min
Feb 17, 8:50 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQCumberland, Powhatan30 min
Feb 17, 9:03 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQGoochland32 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998

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.