Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 196, NWS Blacksburg, VA

June 13, 1998Halifax County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 13, 1998, 2:31 PM EDT for Halifax County, Virginia. It was in force for 49 min. 4 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
Jun 13, 1998, 2:31 PM EDT (18:31 UTC)
Expired
Jun 13, 1998, 3:20 PM EDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

County Halifax County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:32 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
Jun 13, 2:40 PM EDTThunderstorm WindHalifax, VA
Jun 13, 2:40 PM EDTHail 1Halifax, VA
Jun 13, 2:45 PM EDTHail 1Scottsburg, VA
Jun 13, 2:45 PM EDTThunderstorm WindScottsburg, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 13, 1:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 69 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-06-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 1998-06-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 157 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-132 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1078 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
197 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

469 
WUUS01 KRNK 131833 RRA
SVRRNK
VAC083-131920-

BULLETIN--IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
231 PM EDT SAT JUN 13 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  HALIFAX COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA.

* UNTIL 320 PM EDT.

* AT 231 PM EDT... BLACKSBURG DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 33 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF DANVILLE OR 7 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF SCOTTSBURG MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO REACH...
  SCOTTSBURG                      AROUND 240 PM EDT..
  MT LAUREL                       AROUND 245 PM EDT..
  DRYBURG                         AROUND 250 PM EDT..

<< CALL TO ACTION >> SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.  MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY
IMMEDIATELY.

.END/ASPN

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 Jun 13, 9:36 AM EDT, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 13, 9:36 AM EDT, 4 hours 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
935 AM EDT SAT JUNE 13 1998

WBC...MAY WANT TO LOWER RANGE FOR MAXS TODAY TO MU80S FOR THE ROA
GRP BASED ON COOLER H8 TEMPS AND MORNING SOUNDINGS.  MIXING TO NEAR
FRIDAYS DEPTH WOULD GIVE ROA 85ISH.

CRW...STILL COULD SEE A FEW TSTMS IN THE NRV THIS AFTERNOON...BUT
THINK PARTLY SUNNY BETTER THAN CLOUDY.  CC OR VC SEEMS GOOD FOR SERN
WV AND MOUNTAIN EMPIRE OF VA.

RDU...PARTLY SUNNY SEEMS BETTER FOR NW NC WITH THE SCATTERED
CONVECTION.

DISCUSSION...

88D INDICATING MOST OF THE SHOWERS WEAKENING ATTM...EXCEPT FOR NEW
BATCH OF THUNDER FORMING IN EASTERN TN AND MOVING INTO WATAUGA
COUNTY.  SAT PIX HAS PLENTY OF HOLES IN IT OVER THE CWA.

LOW LEVEL CLOUDS IN ERN KY AND CENTRAL AND WESTERN WV SPREADING
EASTWARD IN WESTERLY FLOW AND WILL LIKELY KEEP UPSLOPE COUNTIES IN
SERN WV AND PERHAPS SMYTH/TAZEWELL COUNTIES IN LOTS OF CLOUDS FOR
THE AFTERNOON...LIMITING CHANCES FOR ORGANIZED OR STRONG CONVECTION
THERE.

FARTHER TO THE EAST...STILL SOME QUESTIONS. WHILE WESTERLY FLOW MAY
DAMPEN CONVECTION CHANCES IN THE VA FOOTHILLS AND WESTWARD...FARTHER
EAST AND SOUTH INTO NC...HIGH DEWPOINTS AND AIRFLOW RECOVERING FROM
SHARPER DOWNSLOPING TO THE WEST..WE MAY STILL SEE STRONG CONVECTION
CONVECTION INTO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE BEST DYNAMICS PASS TO
THE EAST BY LATE LATE IN THE AFTERNOON.

FINAL THOUGHT...H8 TEMPS AND MIXING DEPTH FROM FRIDAY SUGGESTING
THAT U80S MAY BE A LONG SHOT FOR ROA/LYH GRPING.

NOGUEIRA

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 13, 12:05 PM EDT, 2 hours 26 minutes before
NCZ003>006-019-020-VAZ032>035-043>047-058-059-141200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
NOON EDT SAT JUN 13 1998

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND VERY EARLY
THIS EVENING IN SOUTHEASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA
AND NORTHWESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...

THE AREA MOST SUSCEPTABLE TO SEVERE THUNDESTORMS IS SOUTHEAST OF A
LINE FROM LYNCHBURG TO MARTINSVILLE IN VIRGINIA...TO YADKINVILLE IN
NORTH CAROLINA.  THE GREATEST SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FROM
THUNDERSTORMS IN THIS AREA IS DAMAGING WINDS.

A MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIRMASS...COMBINED WITH AN UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE AND AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL TRIGGER SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE AFTERNOON.   THE
ATMOSPHERE IS MOST UNSTABLE IN THE PIEDMONTS OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH
CAROLINA WHERE STRONG WINDS IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE MAY
AID THUNDERSTORMS IN PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS.

FARTHER TO THE NORTHWEST COLDER AIR IS ARRIVING IN THE HIGHER LEVELS
OF THE ATMOSPHERE.  WHILE THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE IS SOMEWHAT LESS...THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR
ISOLATED STORMS TO PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LARGE HAIL.

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED FOR A PERIOD OF TIME THIS
AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG VIRGINIA.

NOGUEIRA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 13, 1:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKBath48 min
Jun 13, 2:46 PM EDTTornado WarningRNKHalifax34 min
Jun 13, 2:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKCharlotte34 min
Jun 13, 3:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKBuckingham37 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.