Alert archive / Maine / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Caribou, ME

July 23, 2002Aroostook County, Maine

NWS Caribou, ME issued this tornado warning at Jul 23, 2002, 11:57 AM EDT for Aroostook County, Maine. It was in force for 33 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, 11:57 AM EDT (15:57 UTC)
Expired
Jul 23, 2002, 12:30 PM EDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Caribou, ME
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Aroostook County, ME

The nearest sounding before it

Caribou, ME (KCAR), launched 12:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 52 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, Caribou, ME at 12:00Z on 2002-07-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 429 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, Caribou, ME at 12:00Z on 2002-07-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 14 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
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.

955 
WFUS51 KCAR 231557
TORCAR
MEC003-231645-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
ISSUED BY NWS GRAY ME
1156 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CARIBOU MAINE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL AROOSTOOK COUNTY IN NORTHERN MAINE

* UNTIL 1230 PM EDT

* AT 1146 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO NEAR KNOWLES CORNER HEADED TOWARDS BRIDGEWATER AND         
  MONTECELLO.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  2 MILES NORTHWEST OF BRIDGEWATER AT 1220 PM EDT
  3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MARS HILL AT 1230 PM EDT

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4635 6820 4622 6802 4646 6761 4662 6785

APFFEL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 23, 2:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCARWashington65 min
Jul 23, 2:36 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningCAR69 min
Jul 23, 2:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCARHancock58 min

Nearby

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