Alert archive / Maine / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS Caribou, ME

July 23, 2002Washington County, Maine

NWS Caribou, ME issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 23, 2002, 2:25 PM EDT for Washington County, Maine. It was in force for 65 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jul 23, 2002, 2:25 PM EDT (18:25 UTC)
Expired: Jul 23, 2002, 3:30 PM EDT
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Caribou, ME
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Washington County, ME

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 23, 11:55 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Caribou, ME (KCAR), launched 12:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 169 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: 429 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 618 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 44 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

704 
WUUS51 KCAR 231825
SVRCAR
MEC029-231930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
ISSUED BY NWS GRAY ME
223 PM EDT TUE JUL 23 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CARIBOU MAINE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MAINE
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF CALAIS

* UNTIL 330 PM EDT

* AT 225 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 19 MILES NORTHWEST OF TOPSFIELD...OR ABOUT OVER
  DANFORTH...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE LIKELY WITH THIS 
STORM. TAKE COVER IN A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN CARIBOU MAINE.

LAT...LON 4561 6803 4482 6795 4507 6699 4569 6766

$$

VJN

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 Caribou, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 23, 10:30 AM EDT, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 10:30 AM EDT, 3 hours 55 minutes before

PWMAFDCAR

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
ISSUED BY NWS GRAY ME
1030 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2002

.UPDATED...COLD FRONT IS RIGHT ON THE DOORSTEP OF EXTREME
NORTHWESTERN MAINE AND WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE TO THE SW THIS
AFTERNOON. WILL TRIM BACK POPS IN NORTHERN SPLIT WITH SHOWERS AND
TSTMS COMING TO AN END IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. WILL GO WITH
CATEGORICAL POPS/TSTMS ELSEWHERE. THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS IS
LIMITED THIS AFTERNOON...BUT CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW STRONGER CELLS
PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE.

WILL ALSO RAISE HIGH TEMPS DOWNEAST BASED ON OBS. BGR COULD EASILY
SEE 90.

SYNOPSIS...
A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION AND OFF THE COAST BY
EARLY THIS EVENING. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY THE
PASSAGE OF THE FRONT WITH CLEARING TO FOLLOW IN NORTHERN AREAS THIS
AFTERNOON AND DOWNEAST THIS EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN FROM
CANADA WITH A COOLER AND LESS HUMID AIR MASS TONIGHT AND REMAIN
THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.

DISCUSSION...
LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS (06Z) INDICATING STRONG COLD FRONT CURRENTLY
APPROACHING THE ST. LAWRENCE VALLEY. MSAS ISALLOBARIC ANALYSIS
INDICATING AREA OF 3 TO 4 MB PRES RISES ACROSS SOUTHWEST QUEBEC
PROVINCE ALONG WITH PROGRESSIVE UPPER TROUGH WILL HELP PUSH FRONT
EASTWARD TODAY. ETA/AVN/NGM ALL HAD A GOOD HANDLE ON FRONTAL POSITION
AT 06Z AND ARE IN CLOSE AGREEMENT IN MOVING THE FRONT OFF THE COAST
BY EARLY THIS EVENING.

FORECAST CONCERN ACROSS THE CWFA WILL BE THE STRENGTH OF THE
CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP IN ADVANCE OF FROPA TODAY. ETA BUFKIT
SOUNDINGS INDICATE CAPE VALUES UP TO 1000 J/KG WITH LIS LOWERING TO
ABOUT MINUS 3 ACROSS THE CWFA AROUND MIDDAY. MUCH OF THE LLVL/UPPER
JET ENERGY TO SUPPORT SIGNIFICANT SHEAR ALOFT MOVES WELL TO THE NORTH
AND EAST LENDING LITTLE SUPPORT FOR SEVERE ACTIVITY ACROSS THE CWFA
TODAY. WILL CONTINUE WITH LIKELY/CATEGORICAL CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY
WORDING ACROSS THE CWFA BUT NOT ENHANCE TO WORDING WITH LIMITED
SUPPORT ALOFT.

WITH FRONT MOVING OFF THE COAST EXPECT MUCH COOLER AND DRIER AIR TO
OVERSPREAD THE REGION AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN TONIGHT. BASED ON
TEMPERATURES UPSTREAM UNDER THE APPROACHING RIDGE WILL GO BELOW
FWC/MAV TEMP GUIDANCE FOR MINS (INSPITE OF THE MIXING/WINDS
OCCURRING) TONIGHT AND AGAIN UNDER CLEAR AND RELATIVELY CALM
CONDITIONS FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SURFACE RIDGE BUILDS JUST NORTH OF
THE REGION KEEPING THE CWFA UNDER PLEASANT AND DRY CONDITIONS INTO
THE END OF THE WEEK.

COASTAL WATERS...WILL CONTINUE SCA. TIGHT GRADIENT PERSISTS AHEAD OF
THE COLD FRONT...WITH CURRENT OBS AND SEAS SUPPORTING SCA CRITERIA.
EXPECT SCAS TO CONTINUE INTO EARLY TONIGHT BEFORE WINDS/SEAS GO
BELOW CRITERIA LATER TONIGHT.

.CAR...SCA.

APFFEL

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 23, 10:00 AM EDT, 4 hours 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
1000 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2002

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

0920 PM    DAAQUAM                   ME   NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
07/22/02   AROOSTOOK

0930 PM    10 W CLAYTON LAKE         ME   NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
07/22/02   PISCATAQUIS

APFFEL

Local storm report, Jul 23, 10:00 AM EDT, 4 hours 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
1000 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2002

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

0920 PM    DAAQUAM                   ME   NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
07/22/02   AROOSTOOK

0930 PM    10 W CLAYTON LAKE         ME   NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
07/22/02   AROOSTOOK

APFFEL

The office that day

Everything else NWS Caribou, ME issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 23, 11:57 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	CAR	Aroostook	33 min
Jul 23, 2:36 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CAR		69 min
Jul 23, 2:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAR	Hancock	58 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Maine, 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.