Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 134, NWS Wakefield, VA

September 4, 2002City of Chesapeake, City of Portsmouth, City of Suffolk, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 4, 2002, 10:02 PM EDT for City of Chesapeake, City of Portsmouth, City of Suffolk, 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: Sep 4, 2002, 10:02 PM EDT (02:02 UTC)
Expired: Sep 4, 2002, 10:30 PM EDT
In force: 28 min
Issued by: NWS Wakefield, VA
Area: Whole counties

Counties City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Portsmouth, VA, City of Suffolk, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 59 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:04 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

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 223 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1436 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -71 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1147 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 113 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 Sep 4, 9:05 PM EDT, 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 4, 9:05 PM EDT, 57 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 4, 7:41 PM EDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before

VAZ093-094-050045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
741 PM EDT WED SEP 4 2002

...THUNDERSTORMS AROUND NEWPORT NEWS ARE PRODUCING FREQUENT
LIGHTNING...

AT 740 PM...THUNDERSTORMS AROUND NEWPORT NEWS AND NORTHERN ISLA OF
WIGHT COUNTY...WERE MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.  THESE STORMS WILL MOVE
INTO THE HAMPTON AREA BY 815 PM....AND INTO THE BAY BY 830 PM.
THESE AREAS CAN EXPECT LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND GUSTY WINDS TO 35
MPH.

IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE AND CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE IN DANGER OF BEING
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.  SEEK SAFE SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

NS

Special weather statement, Sep 4, 7:48 PM EDT, 2 hours 14 minutes before

VAZ048-049-061>063-069-071-072-050045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
748 PM EDT WED SEP 4 2002

...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TOWARD RICHMOND
AND HANOVER...

AT 745 PM...RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS FROM NORTHERN KING
WILLIAM COUNTY...TO FLUVANNA COUNTY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
THE STORMS WILL MOVIE INTO NORTHERN CUMBERLAND...GOOCHLAND...HANOVER
AND POWHATAN COUNTIES THROUGH 830 PM. BY 830 PM...THE SHOWERS AND
STORMS WILL APPROACH RICHMOND.

WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH...SMALL HAIL AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE
POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE AND CAN HEAR
THUNDER...YOU ARE IN DANGER OF BEING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.  SEEK SAFE
SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

NS

Special weather statement, Sep 4, 8:42 PM EDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before

VAZ089-091>098-050145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
842 PM EDT WED SEP 4 2002

...THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT AREAS AROUND HAMPTON ROADS
THROUGH 930 PM...

AT 842 PM...RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS FROM SURRY TO ISLE
OF WIGHT...NEWPORT NEWS...HAMPTON AND NORFOLK.  ALL THE STORMS WERE
MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.  THE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE
AREA THROUGH 930 PM.

WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE
WITH THIS STORM. PEA-SIZED HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE.  IF YOU ARE
OUTSIDE AND CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE IN DANGER OF BEING STRUCK BY
LIGHTNING.  SEEK SAFE SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

NS

Special weather statement, Sep 4, 9:17 PM EDT, 45 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Sep 4, 9:33 PM EDT, 29 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Sep 4, 9:55 PM EDT, 7 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 4, 8:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Chesterfield, Henrico, City of Richmond	30 min
Sep 4, 11:16 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		59 min
Sep 4, 11:16 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		59 min
Sep 4, 11:16 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		59 min
Sep 5, 1:01 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		44 min
Sep 5, 1:01 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		44 min
Sep 5, 1:01 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		44 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2002 Every 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.