Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 94, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 16, 1998Patrick County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1998, 6:52 PM EDT for Patrick County, Virginia. It was in force for 33 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 16, 1998, 6:52 PM EDT (22:52 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 1998, 7:25 PM EDT
In force: 33 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Whole counties

County Patrick County, VA

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 75 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1149 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1251 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 156 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

312 
WUUS01 KRNK 162254 RRA
SVRRNK
VAC141-162325-

BULLETIN--IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
652 PM EDT SAT MAY 16 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN PATRICK COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA.

* UNTIL 725 PM EDT.

* AT 652 PM EDT... BLACKSBURG DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 18 MILES WEST OF MARTINSVILLE OR 3 MILES NORTHWEST
  OF CRITZ MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.

* SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO REACH...
  CRITZ                           AROUND 710 PM EDT..

<< CALL TO ACTION >> THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM MOVE TO THE
INTERIOR OF A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

.END/KK/JDS

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 May 16, 2:45 PM EDT, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 2:45 PM EDT, 4 hours 7 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
245 PM EDT SAT MAY 16 1998

65-70 DWPTS RUNNING OUT AHEAD OF THE SFC FRONT THIS AFTN SHUD
PROVIDE ENUF FUEL FOR A FEW TSTMS LATE TODAY AND THIS EVENING OVER
PARTS OF THE CWA. CRNT LOW CHC POPS LK FINE.

DRIER AIR BEGINS FILTERING IN AFTER MIDNIGHT. OTHER THAN SOME
LINGERING CLOUDS EAST OF THE MTNS EARLY TMRW...SUNDAY SHUD TURN OUT
TO BE A SOMEWHAT COOLER AND LESS HUMID DAY WITH NORTH FLOW. CLEAR
AND TRANQUIL WX WILL CONTINUE THRU MONDAY AS SFC RIDGE AND VERY DRY
AIR SLOWLY BUILDS INTO THE SRN APPS.

MOS TEMPS IN AGREEMENT UNTIL MONDAY WHEN THEY GO IN OPPOSITE
DIRECTIONS. MONDAY SHUD SEE MAXES SIMILAR TO SUNDAY...AND THUS A
FWC/FAN COMPROMISE MORE OR LESS.

ROA 60/81/54/82 3100
LYH 61/82/55/83 3100
DAN 63/84/58/85 3100
BLF 56/76/51/80 3100
RNK 57/78/52/81 3100

JDS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 5:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery	66 min
May 16, 5:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bath	47 min
May 16, 5:51 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Floyd	34 min
May 16, 6:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem	67 min
May 16, 6:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford, Franklin	66 min
May 16, 7:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Roanoke, City of Roanoke	51 min
May 16, 7:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	City of Salem	51 min
May 16, 7:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Patrick	66 min
May 16, 7:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Henry, City of Martinsville	65 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 1998 Every 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.