Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 117, NWS Wakefield, VA

July 4, 2002Camden County, Currituck County, North Carolina

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 2002, 2:01 PM EDT for Camden County, Currituck County, North Carolina. It was in force for 29 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
Jul 4, 2002, 2:01 PM EDT (18:01 UTC)
Expired
Jul 4, 2002, 2:30 PM EDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Wakefield, VA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Camden County, NC, Currituck County, NC

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:05 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
Jul 4, 2:15 PM EDTHail 1Moyock, NC
Jul 4, 2:15 PM EDTHail 0.75Camden, NC

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

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 191 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, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2002-07-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1567 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, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2002-07-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 20 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1567 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-72 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1142 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
80 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Wakefield, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 4, 10:00 AM EDT, 4 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 10:00 AM EDT, 4 hours 1 minute before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD, VA
1000 AM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

ONCE AGAIN TODAY...MORNING SOUNDINGS SHOW AMS EXTREMELY
UNSTABLE...WITH NOT MUCH OF A CAP...ALTHOUGH LOWER LEVELS ARE NOT
THAT MOIST...WITH DEWPTS DROPPING OFF WITH HEIGHT. MODIFIED REGIONAL
SOUNDINGS SUGGEST 4000 TO 5000 J/KG OF CAPE GIVEN REALISTIC FCAST
MAX TEMPS.

GIVEN UNSTABLE AMS...BUT LACK OF ANY SYNOPTIC SCALE FORCING...AND
WEAK SHEAR...EXPECT PULSE STORMS TO DEVELOP ONCE AGAIN THIS
AFTERNOON IN VICINITY OF ANY BOUNDARIES. ATTM...WINDS MOSTLY LIGHT N
OVER INTERIOR SECTIONS...AND CALM SE...WITH WEAK CONVERGENCE OVER SE
SECTIONS. OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM YDAS CONVECTION...AND WEAK SFC
PRES GRADIENTS...MAKING FOR MOSTLY LIGHT NORTHERLY WINDS ACROSS MOST
OF THE CWA THIS MORNING...WITH CALM WINDS SE...SO WEAK CONVERGENCE
AXIS TODAY FARTHER S AND E THAN YDA. FOR THIS REASON...MIGHT EXPECT
DEVELOPMENT (WIDELY SCT) TO BE A LITTLE FARTHER E...BUT HARD TO SAY
EXACTLY HOW CONVERGENCE FIELDS WILL LOOK THIS AFTERNOON. FOR
NOW...WILL KEEP LOW POPS EVERYWHERE...AND MONITOR VISIBLE SATELLITE
FOR CU DEVLOPMENT TO GIVE CLUES AS TO WHERE AFTERNOON CONCENTRATION
WILL BE.

OTHER BIG STORY IS HEAT. HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF
THE REGION...AS WERE LOOKING AT A SECOND DAY OF HEAT INDICES ABOVE
105 MOST INTERIOR LOCATIONS. MAY APPROACH RECORDS TODAY...WITH BEST
CHANCE OF REACHING RECORD BEING AT RIC. RECORDS BELOW...

RIC 98  SET IN 1900
ORF 98  SET IN 1997
SBY 100 SET IN 1919
ECG 100 SET IN 1997

FCSTID = 18
SBY   96  71  89  61 /  30  30  20  10
OXB   90  74  86  64 /  20  20  20  10
ECG   93  74  90  70 /  20  20  30  10
ORF   95  75  90  71 /  20  20  30  10
PHF   96  74  91  70 /  20  20  30  10
AKQ   98  72  93  68 /  30  30  30  10
RIC   99  72  91  65 /  30  30  20  10
FVX   96  72  92  64 /  30  30  20  10

.AKQ...
MD...HEAT ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES MDZ021>024.

NC...HEAT ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES NCZ012>013...NCZ015...
NCZ030>032...NCZ014.

VA...HEAT ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES VAZ048>049...VAZ060>097...
VAZ099>100.

REILLY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 4, 10:30 AM EDT, 3 hours 31 minutes before
MDZ021>025-NCZ012>017-030>032-VAZ048-049-060>100-042000-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED ISSUANCE DATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
1030 AM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING...

THIS AFTERNOON...MUCH LIKE YESTERDAY...WIDELY SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND THE
MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE
OVER THE REST OF SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA...PORTIONS OF THE LOWER EASTERN
SHORE...AND NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA. ALTHOUGH THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT
EXPECTED TO BE WIDESPREAD...ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP HAVE
THE POTENTIAL TO BE SEVERE...AS THE ATMOSPHERE IS VERY UNSTABLE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION...SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING...

WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH...HAIL UP TO THREE QUARTER INCH IN
DIAMETER...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...AS THE STORMS WILL BE SLOW
MOVING. SHOULD THE SLOW MOVING STORMS BECOME POSITIONED OVER URBAN
AREAS...LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

REILLY

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.