Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Blacksburg, VA

March 20, 1998Henry County, City of Martinsville, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Mar 20, 1998, 3:41 PM EST for Henry County, City of Martinsville, Virginia. It was in force for 44 min. 2 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
Mar 20, 1998, 3:41 PM EST (20:41 UTC)
Expired
Mar 20, 1998, 4:25 PM EST
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

Counties City of Martinsville, VA, Henry County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:42 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
Mar 20, 3:54 PM ESTThunderstorm WindSandy Level, VA
Mar 20, 3:56 PM ESTTornado F1Sandy Level, 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
Mar 20, 1:00 PM ESTTornado WatchSPC6 hr
Mar 20, 3:30 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 68 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 1998-03-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 1998-03-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 179 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
595 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
234 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.

738 
WFUS01 KRNK 202042 RRA
TORRNK
VAC089-690-202125-

BULLETIN--EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
341 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG VA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 425 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

   ...HENRY COUNTY

IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA THE INDEPENDENT CITY OF

   ...MARTINSVILLE


AT 340 PM EST... BLACKSBURG DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 11
MILES SOUTH OF MARTINSVILLE OR 4 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF RIDGEWAY
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

A TORNADO HAS BEEN REPORTED ON THE GROUND NEAR STONEVILLE IN
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY.

THE TORNADO WILL BE IN THE VICINITY OF...
 RIDGEWAY                        AROUND 346 PM EST
 MARTINSVILLE                    AROUND 350 PM EST
 AIKEN SUMMIT                    AROUND 400 PM EST
 AXTON                           AROUND 405 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.

JDS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 7:04 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKGrayson3 hr
Mar 20, 7:23 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKGrayson32 min
Mar 20, 9:58 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKMontgomery3 hr
Mar 20, 11:09 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKRoanoke, City of Roanoke3 hr
Mar 20, 11:09 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKCity of Salem3 hr
Mar 20, 1:21 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPulaski29 min
Mar 20, 2:25 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKGiles, Montgomery2 hr
Mar 20, 2:35 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKFloyd50 min
Mar 20, 3:15 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKRoanoke, City of Salem3 hr
Mar 20, 3:15 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKCity of Roanoke3 hr
Mar 20, 3:34 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKRoanoke, City of Salem36 min
Mar 20, 3:34 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKCity of Roanoke36 min
Mar 20, 4:03 PM ESTTornado WarningRNKPittsylvania62 min
Mar 20, 4:28 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKHalifax47 min
Mar 20, 4:30 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKBedford, Botetourt2 hr
Mar 20, 4:51 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPittsylvania49 min
Mar 20, 5:31 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKRoanoke, City of Salem3 hr
Mar 20, 5:31 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKCity of Roanoke3 hr
Mar 20, 6:11 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRNKRockbridge, City of Buena Vista, City of Lexington3 hr
Mar 20, 6:53 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPittsylvania, City of Danville47 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.