Alert archive / Maine / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 9, NWS Caribou, ME

July 2, 2002Hancock County, Maine

NWS Caribou, ME issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 2, 2002, 6:59 AM EDT for Hancock County, Maine. It was in force for 61 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 2, 2002, 6:59 AM EDT (10:59 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 2002, 8:00 AM EDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Caribou, ME
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Hancock 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 nearest sounding before it

Gray, ME (KGYX), launched 00:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 183 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, Gray, ME at 00:00Z on 2002-07-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1496 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, Gray, ME at 00:00Z on 2002-07-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 160 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1496 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-65 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1317 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
248 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
8.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

828 
WUUS51 KCAR 021059
SVRCAR
MEC009-021200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
ISSUED BY NWS GRAY ME
659 AM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CARIBOU MAINE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL HANCOCK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MAINE

* UNTIL 800 AM EDT

* AT 651 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER AURORA...OR ABOUT 16 MILES EAST OF OLD
  TOWN...MOVING SOUTH AT 45 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  4 MILES EAST OF WALTHAM AT 705 AM EDT
  2 MILES NORTHEAST OF EASTBROOK AT 710 AM EDT
  3 MILES NORTHEAST OF FRANKLIN AT 715 AM EDT
  5 MILES EAST OF HANCOCK AT 720 AM EDT
  2 MILES EAST OF SULLIVAN...3 MILES EAST OF SORRENTO AT 725 AM EDT

VERY LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

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 4487 6845 4445 6830 4449 6801 4492 6814

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 2, 4:50 AM EDT, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 4:50 AM EDT, 2 hours 9 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
450 AM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG WARM FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TODAY BRINGING
IN HOT AND HUMID AIR. LOW PRESSURE IN EASTERN CANADA COMBINED WITH HIGH
PRESSURE SOUTH OF NEW ENGLAND WILL KEEP HOT AND HUMID AIR ACROSS THE REGION
TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH ON THURSDAY AND USHER IN
SOME MUCH COOLER AND DRYER AIR THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY.

DISCUSSION...A GREAT PLAINS LIKE LOW LEVEL JET OF WARM AND VERY HUMID AIR
FLOWING EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN CANADA HAS BEEN FEEDING INTO A THUNDERSTORM
COMPLEX ACROSS NORTHERN MAINE EARLY THIS MORNING. COLD AIR POOLED ALOFT IN
ASSOCIATION WITH AN UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE MARITIMES HAS BEEN PROVIDING
THE INSTABILITY FOR THESE STORMS. THE CONVECTION WILL LIKELY SUBSIDE INTO
LIGHTER SHOWERS THIS MORNING AS THE DAYTIME HEATING SLOWS DOWN THE LOW
LEVEL JET. THE HOT AND HUMID AIR WILL BE ALLOWED TO POUR IN ACROSS THE AREA
TODAY AS THE UPPER LOW BACKS EAST OF THE AREA. SOME THUNDERSTORMS WILL
AGAIN BE POSSIBLE LATE TODAY IN RESPONSE TO THE DAYS HEATING. CAPES ARE
FORECAST TO BE VERY HIGH. HOWEVER...WARMING IN THE MID LEVELS MAY LIMIT
CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS SO THIS AFTERNOONS ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO BE
LESS WIDESPREAD THAN THIS MORNINGS STORMS.

WARM AND HUMID AIR WILL SPREAD INTO THE AREA TODAY AS THE UPPER LOW BACKS
EAST GIVING WAY TO UPPER LEVEL RIDGING. ONCE THE HOT HUMID AIR IS IN...IT
WILL BE HERE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY A STRONG
SHORTWAVE MOVING THROUGH EASTERN CANADA PULLING A COLD FRONT SOUTH ACROSS
THE AREA. MUCH COLDER AIR WILL POUR ACROSS THE AREA ON THURSDAY AND
MAINTAIN COOL AND DRY WEATHER FRIDAY INTO EARLY SATURDAY. RIDGING LATE IN
THE WEEKEND WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO WARM SIGNIFICANTLY AGAIN.

COASTAL WATERS: NO HEADLINES FOR WINDS. VISIBILITIES WILL BE LOW IN AREAS
OF DENSE FOG AS THE HUMID AIR MOVES OVER THE COOLER WATERS.

.CAR...NONE

MCB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 2, 2:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCARAroostook45 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Maine, 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.