Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 7, 1998Pittsylvania County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at May 7, 1998, 7:35 PM EDT for Pittsylvania 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
May 7, 1998, 7:35 PM EDT (23:35 UTC)
Expired
May 7, 1998, 8:25 PM EDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

County Pittsylvania County, VA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 7, 7:40 PM EDTTornado F1Blairs, 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 nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 43 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 1998-05-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4 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 1998-05-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 129 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
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
712 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
147 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.

456 
WFUS01 KRNK 072336 RRA
TORRNK
VAC143-080025-

BULLETIN--EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
735 PM EDT THU MAY 7 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA.

* UNTIL 825 PM EDT.

* AT 735 PM EDT... BLACKSBURG DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 8
  MILES NORTH OF DANVILLE OR 3 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF DRY FORK
  MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE IN THE VICINITY OF...
  DRY FORK                        AROUND 740 PM EDT..
  BLAIRS                          AROUND 740 PM EDT..
  KEELING                         AROUND 750 PM EDT..
  JAVA                            AROUND 800 PM EDT..

<< CALL TO ACTION >> 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.

.END/JDS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 7, 6:52 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKPatrick118 min
May 7, 7:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKHenry, City of Martinsville50 min
May 7, 7:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPittsylvania48 min
May 7, 7:29 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKHenry, City of Martinsville2 hr

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.