Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Feb 17, 1998, 6:45 PM EST for Buckingham County, Virginia. It was in force for 50 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
- Feb 17, 1998, 6:45 PM EST (23:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 17, 1998, 7:35 PM EST
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Buckingham County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 150 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:46 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 6:45 PM EST | Hail 2 | Centenary, VA | An isolated severe thunderstorm produced hail up to two inches in diameter near Centenary. |
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, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 95 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 505 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 68 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 728 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 863 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
051 WFUS01 KRNK 172348 RRA TORRNK VAC029-180035- BULLETIN--EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 645 PM EST TUE FEB 17 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG VA HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 735 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA ...BUCKINGHAM COUNTY AT 645 PM EST... STERLING VIRGINIA DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 35 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF LYNCHBURG OR 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CENTENARY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. THE TORNADO WILL BE IN THE VICINITY OF... CENTENARY AROUND 650 PM EST IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE..SEEK SAFETY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. DD
The office that day
Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 12:38 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Roanoke, City of Salem | 3 hr |
| Feb 17, 12:38 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | City of Roanoke | 3 hr |
| Feb 17, 1:25 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Rockbridge, City of Buena Vista | 4 hr |
| Feb 17, 1:25 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | City of Lexington | 4 hr |
| Feb 17, 5:15 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Rockbridge, City of Buena Vista | 105 min |
| Feb 17, 5:15 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | City of Lexington | 105 min |
| Feb 17, 6:38 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Buckingham | 62 min |
| Feb 17, 6:42 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Buckingham | 63 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.