Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Wakefield, VA

May 2, 2002Amelia County, Nottoway County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at May 2, 2002, 3:45 PM EDT for Amelia County, Nottoway County, Virginia. It was in force for 15 min. 3 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: May 2, 2002, 3:45 PM EDT (19:45 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 2002, 4:00 PM EDT
In force: 15 min
Issued by: NWS Wakefield, VA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Amelia County, VA, Nottoway County, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:47 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 2, 3:50 PM EDT	Tornado F0	Burkeville, VA	Mobile home severely damaged. Trees down.
May 2, 3:55 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Countywide, VA	Trees down.
May 2, 4:05 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Earls, VA	Trees down. Minor roof damage.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 2, 2:45 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 132 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: 317 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 667 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 382 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 418 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS51 KAKQ 021945
TORAKQ
VAC007-135-022000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
345 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  AMELIA COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  NOTTOWAY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 400 PM EDT

* AT 345 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO OVER JENNINGS
  ORDINARY...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

* THE STORM PRODUCING THE TORNADO WILL REACH...
  CLAY STORE AND DENARO AROUND 350 PM
  SPAINVILLE AND EARLS AROUND 355 PM

TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.
VEHICLES AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR STURDIER SHELTER.

$$

NS
&&
LAT...LON 3735 7822 3718 7827 3712 7784 3728 7777

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 2, 3:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Cumberland, Nottoway, Prince Edward	31 min
May 2, 3:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Charlotte	28 min
May 2, 3:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Mecklenburg	38 min
May 2, 3:49 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Mecklenburg	31 min
May 2, 4:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Amelia, Dinwiddie	20 min
May 2, 4:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Prince George, Sussex, City of Colonial Heights, City of Petersburg	30 min
May 2, 4:20 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Brunswick, Mecklenburg	40 min
May 2, 4:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Charles City	21 min
May 2, 4:36 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Charles City, Prince George	19 min
May 2, 4:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Greensville, Surry, City of Emporia	20 min
May 2, 4:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Gloucester, James City, York, City of Williamsburg	29 min
May 2, 4:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Southampton	30 min
May 2, 5:10 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		50 min
May 2, 5:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Isle of Wight	41 min
May 2, 5:15 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		90 min
May 2, 5:15 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		90 min
May 2, 5:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	City of Hampton, City of Newport News, City of Poquoson	15 min
May 2, 5:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Northampton	20 min
May 2, 5:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Mecklenburg	40 min
May 2, 5:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	City of Chesapeake, City of Portsmouth	15 min
May 2, 5:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	City of Chesapeake, City of Virginia Beach	32 min
May 2, 6:09 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Brunswick, Mecklenburg	31 min
May 2, 6:20 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		55 min
May 2, 6:20 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		55 min
May 2, 6:20 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	AKQ		55 min
May 2, 6:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Brunswick, Greensville	28 min
May 2, 7:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Southampton	39 min
May 2, 7:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Brunswick	19 min
May 2, 7:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Greensville, City of Emporia	29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.