Alert archive / Ohio / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Cleveland, OH

April 28, 2002Ashtabula County, Ohio; Erie County, Pennsylvania

NWS Cleveland, OH issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 2002, 1:02 PM EDT for Ashtabula County, Ohio; Erie County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 43 min. 8 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: Apr 28, 2002, 1:02 PM EDT (17:02 UTC)
Expired: Apr 28, 2002, 1:45 PM EDT
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Cleveland, OH
Area: Whole counties

Counties Ashtabula County, OH, Erie County, PA

The radar

The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:01 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
Apr 28, 1:05 PM EDT	Hail 1	Jefferson, OH	Quarter size hail was reported.
Apr 28, 1:12 PM EDT	Hail 1	Jefferson, OH	Dime to quarter size hail was reported.
Apr 28, 1:15 PM EDT	Hail 1	Jefferson, OH	Quarter size hail was reported.
Apr 28, 1:30 PM EDT	Hail 1.75	Albion, PA	Golf ball size hail was reported.
Apr 28, 1:40 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 M	Erie Intl Arpt, PA	A 63 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured at Erie International Airport. Several buildings and 21 vehicles were damaged at the airport by the strong winds and flying debris. Two of the buildings sustained major damage.
Apr 28, 1:45 PM EDT	Hail 0.88	Edinboro, PA	Nickel size hail was reported north of Edinboro near McKean.
Apr 28, 1:45 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Countywide, PA	Thunderstorm winds caused scattered damage across northern Erie County from the western portion of the City of Erie to North East. Many trees, road signs and power poles were downed across the area. Several buildings were damaged in the City of Erie and a fa
Apr 28, 1:48 PM EDT	Hail 1.75	Erie, PA	Golf ball size hail was reported over Presque Isle.

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
Apr 28, 11:45 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 175 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: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 419 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 686 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 744 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KCLE 281702
TORCLE
OHC007-PAC049-281745-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
102 PM EDT SUN APR 28 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ASHTABULA COUNTY IN OHIO...
  ERIE COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA...

* UNTIL 145 PM EDT

* AT 102 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER
  JEFFERSON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  CONNEAUT
  JEFFERSON
  ALBION
  ERIE
  GIRARD
  NORTH EAST

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.

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cleveland, OH issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 28, 10:55 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CLE		2 hr
Apr 28, 11:59 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Erie, Lorain	46 min
Apr 28, 12:09 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CLE		2 hr
Apr 28, 12:09 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CLE		2 hr
Apr 28, 12:09 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CLE		2 hr
Apr 28, 12:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Huron	46 min
Apr 28, 12:43 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CLE	Richland	32 min
Apr 28, 12:48 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CLE	Medina	42 min
Apr 28, 12:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Knox	50 min
Apr 28, 12:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Ashtabula	34 min
Apr 28, 1:08 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Knox	52 min
Apr 28, 1:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Summit	43 min
Apr 28, 1:22 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CLE	Wayne	38 min
Apr 28, 1:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Holmes	49 min
Apr 28, 1:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Portage	40 min
Apr 28, 1:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Ashtabula, Geauga	48 min
Apr 28, 1:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Stark	44 min
Apr 28, 1:51 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CLE	Stark	24 min
Apr 28, 1:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Trumbull	47 min
Apr 28, 2:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Mahoning	63 min
Apr 28, 1:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CLE	Erie	64 min
Apr 28, 1:58 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CLE	Erie	32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Ohio, 2002 Tornado Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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.