Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Eureka, CA

December 14, 2002Humboldt County, California

NWS Eureka, CA issued this tornado warning at Dec 14, 2002, 10:20 AM PST for Humboldt County, California. It was in force for 25 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
Dec 14, 2002, 10:20 AM PST (18:20 UTC)
Expired
Dec 14, 2002, 10:45 AM PST
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Eureka, CA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Humboldt County, CA

The radar

The Eureka (Bunker Hill) radar (KBHX), 3 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:21 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Medford/Jackson, OR (KMFR), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 245 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, Medford/Jackson, OR at 12:00Z on 2002-12-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Medford/Jackson, OR at 12:00Z on 2002-12-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 211 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1105 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
65 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
211 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
496 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.

112 
WFUS56 KEKA 141820
TOREKA
CAC023-141845-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA
1019 AM PST SAT DEC 14 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EUREKA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WEST CENTRAL HUMBOLDT COUNTY IN NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA

* UNTIL 1045 AM PST

* AT 1009 AM PST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO JUST OFFSHORE APPROACHING CAPE MENDOCINO MOVING EAST AT 30 
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  CAPE MENDOCINO AT 1030 AM PST

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 4058 12446 4041 12452 4031 12411 4053 12404

The office that day

Everything else NWS Eureka, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 14, 8:57 AM PSTSpecial Marine WarningEKA63 min
Dec 14, 8:57 AM PSTSpecial Marine WarningEKA63 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in California, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.