Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 38, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 7, 1998, 11:19 PM EDT for McDowell County, West Virginia. It was in force for 41 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
- May 7, 1998, 11:19 PM EDT (03:19 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 1998, 12:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 41 min
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Whole counties
County McDowell County, WV
The radar
The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 11:30 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Welch, 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
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 192 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
- 362 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -10 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 622 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 304 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 350 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 4.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
836 WUUS1 KCRW 080316 RRA SVRCRW WVC047-080400- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 1119 PM EDT THU MAY 7 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...... IN SOUTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA ...MCDOWELL COUNTY AT 1112 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ENTERING SOUTHWEST MCDOWELL COUNTY...NEAR BRADSHAW. THIS STORM WAS TRACKING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL TRACK ALONG ROUTE 83. THIS STORM WILL REACH WELCH AROUND 1135 PM. << 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 DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
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, May 7, 6:37 PM EDT, 4 hours 42 minutes before
WVZ015-027-080030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 637 PM EDT THU MAY 7 1998 AT 635 PM...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN WERE MOVING FROM EASTERN KANAWHA COUNTY INTO WESTERN CLAY COUNTY. THE RAIN SHOULD LAST ABOUT AN HOUR...DURING WHICH TIME A FEW LOCATIONS MAY PICK UP ONE HALF INCH OF RAIN. THIS WILL CAUSE RAPID RISES ON THE SMALLER STREAM AND CREEKS. A FEW STREAMS MAY REACH BANKFULL LEVELS. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING. PEOPLE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO SMALL STREAM FLOODING...SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS IN CASE WARNINGS ARE ISSUED. END/
Special weather statement, May 7, 6:37 PM EDT, 4 hours 42 minutes before
WVZ015-027-080030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 637 PM EDT THU MAY 7 1998 AT 635 PM...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN WERE MOVING FROM EASTERN KANAWHA COUNTY INTO WESTERN CLAY COUNTY. THE RAIN SHOULD LAST ABOUT AN HOUR...DURING WHICH TIME A FEW LOCATIONS MAY PICK UP ONE HALF INCH OF RAIN. THIS WILL CAUSE RAPID RISES ON THE SMALLER STREAM AND CREEKS. A FEW STREAMS MAY REACH BANKFULL LEVELS. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING. PEOPLE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO SMALL STREAM FLOODING...SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS IN CASE WARNINGS ARE ISSUED. END/
Local storm report, May 7, 7:04 PM EDT, 4 hours 15 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA
704 PM EDT THU MAY 07 1998
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0545 PM CLINTWOOD VA .75 INCH HAIL
05/07/98 DICKENSON
0610 PM BAILEYSVILLE WV WIND DAMAGE
05/07/98 WYOMING NUMEROUS TREES KNOCKED
DOWN ALONG ROUTE 97 FROM
BAILEYSVILLE TO BRENTONLocal storm report, May 7, 7:04 PM EDT, 4 hours 15 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA
704 PM EDT THU MAY 07 1998
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0545 PM CLINTWOOD VA .75 INCH HAIL
05/07/98 DICKENSON
0610 PM BAILEYSVILLE WV WIND DAMAGE
05/07/98 WYOMING NUMEROUS TREES KNOCKED
DOWN ALONG ROUTE 97 FROM
BAILEYSVILLE TO BRENTONNearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in West 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.