Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1998, 6:34 PM EDT for Randolph 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 16, 1998, 6:34 PM EDT (22:34 UTC)
- Expired
- May 16, 1998, 7:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 41 min
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Whole counties
County Randolph County, WV
The radar
The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 169 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:36 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 16, 6:46 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Blue Rock, 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 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 178 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
- 419 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -187 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1113 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 109 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 96 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
252 WUUS1 KCRW 162235 RRA SVRCRW WVC083-162315- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 634 PM EDT SAT MAY 16 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 715 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...... IN NORTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA ...RANDOLPH COUNTY AT 6:32 PM EDT CHARLESTON DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR DETECTED SEVERAL POTENTIALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO WESTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY. THE STRONGEST STORM WAS JUST NORTH OF PICKENS. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR. THESE STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DIME SIZE HAIL AS THEY DEVELOPED OVER UPSHUR COUNTY. << 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. .END/ZINN &
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
Local storm report, May 16, 6:24 PM EDT, 10 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA
624 PM EDT SAT MAY 16 1998
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0600 PM ADRIAN WV .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/98 UPSHUR THE HAIL AS REPORTED NEAR
THE TOWN OF ADRIAN.The office that day
Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 5:48 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Upshur | 27 min |
| May 16, 6:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Upshur | 28 min |
Nearby
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.