Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 126, NWS Wakefield, VA

August 2, 2002Dinwiddie County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 2, 2002, 5:52 PM EDT for Dinwiddie County, Virginia. It was in force for 28 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
Aug 2, 2002, 5:52 PM EDT (21:52 UTC)
Expired
Aug 2, 2002, 6:20 PM EDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Wakefield, VA
Area
Whole counties

County Dinwiddie County, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:52 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 219 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-08-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1282 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-08-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 33 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
1282 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-59 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1242 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
33 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
89 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.5

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 Aug 2, 3:42 PM EDT, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 2, 3:42 PM EDT, 2 hours 10 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 2, 1:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 22 minutes before
VAZ065>068-070-079>081-087-088-092-021930-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
130 PM EDT FRI AUG 2 2002

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHCENTRAL
VIRGINIA...

AT 130 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED DEVELOPING SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OVER LUNENBURG AND NOTTOWAY COUNTIES.  THESE STORMS
WERE GENERALLY MOVING SOUTHWEST AROUND 10 TO 15 MPH.  FURTHER STORM
DEVELOPMENT WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM CHESTERFIELD...TO MECKLENBURG...TO
SOUTHAMPTON COUNTIES THROUGH 330 PM.  BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND
FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST
STORMS...ALONG WITH PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING
IN LOW LYING AREAS.

FOSTER
Special weather statement, Aug 2, 1:40 PM EDT, 4 hours 12 minutes before
MDZ022>024-021845-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
140 PM EDT FRI AUG 2 2002

...THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE...

AT 140 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OVER WICOMICO COUNTY ON THE MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE.
THESE STORMS WERE SLOWLY MOVING TO THE SOUTH AND WILL LIKELY AFFECT
NORTHERN SOMERSET AND WESTERN WORCESTER COUNTIES BY 200 PM.  HEAVY
RAINFALL FROM THESE SLOW MOVING STOMRS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE PONDING
OF WATER ON ROADS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS.  THESE
STORMS WILL ALSO PRODUCE FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLE
SMALL HAIL.

FOSTER
Local storm report, Aug 2, 2:00 PM EDT, 3 hours 52 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
200 PM EDT FRI AUG 02 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0151 PM    2E SALISBURY              MD   1.00 IN HAIL
08/02/02   WICOMICO
Special weather statement, Aug 2, 3:03 PM EDT, 2 hours 49 minutes before
VAZ066>068-070-022000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
303 PM EDT FRI AUG 2 2002

...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN CONTINUING OVER PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL VIRGINIA...

AT 300 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED AN AREA OF
THUNDERSTORMS...WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...FROM NEAR MOSELEY IN WESTERN
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY...SOUTHWEST TO ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTH OF CREWE IN
NOTTOWAY COUNTY. THE STORMS WERE NEARLY STATIONARY...HOWEVER...THE
STORMS WILL LIKELY BUILD SOUTHWEST INTO PORTIONS OF LUNENBURG
COUNTY...BEFORE 400 PM.

RAINFALL RATES OF AROUND 2 INCHES PER HOUR WILL CAUSE PONDING OF
WATER ON ROADWAYS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING IN LOW LYING AND POOR
DRAINAGE AREAS.

MOST LIGHTNING FATALITIES AND INJURIES OCCUR IN OPEN FIELDS OR UNDER
TREES. IF OUTDOORS...SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING OR CAR. DO NOT
TAKE SHELTER IN SMALL SHEDS...UNDER ISOLATED TREES...OR IN
CONVERTIBLE AUTOMOBILES.

25
Special weather statement, Aug 2, 4:14 PM EDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 2:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQAmelia27 min
Aug 2, 3:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQAccomack46 min
Aug 2, 4:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQChesterfield, City of Colonial Heights14 min
Aug 2, 1:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQWicomico41 min
Aug 2, 2:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQSomerset31 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.