Alert archive / California / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Hanford, CA

December 16, 2002Tulare County, California

NWS Hanford, CA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 16, 2002, 6:00 PM PST for Tulare County, California. It was in force for 30 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 16, 2002, 6:00 PM PST (02:00 UTC)
Expired
Dec 16, 2002, 6:30 PM PST
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Hanford, CA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Tulare County, CA

The radar

The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:03 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

Vandenberg AFB, CA (KVBG), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 232 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, Vandenberg AFB, CA at 00:00Z on 2002-12-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 76 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, Vandenberg AFB, CA at 00:00Z on 2002-12-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -58 square meters per square second.1939587897117136156Sfc1 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
76 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
679 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
102 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-58 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
86 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

882 
WUUS56 KHNX 170200
SVRHNX
CAC107-170230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
600 PM PST MON DEC 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD CA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL TULARE COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

* UNTIL 630 PM PST

* AT 600 PM PST...DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
  WOODLAKE...OR ABOUT 14 MILES NORTHEAST OF VISALIA...MOVING
  SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE...
  5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THREE RIVERS AT 620 PM PST

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE
WARNING. PREPARE TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A STURDY STRUCTURE
SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM IF A TORNADO IS SPOTTED.

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

LAT...LON 3655 11913 3639 11923 3621 11883 3642 11871

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 16, 5:31 PM PSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHNXTulare29 min
Dec 16, 5:32 PM PSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHNXTulare28 min
Dec 17, 1:20 PM PSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHNXKern, Tulare40 min

Nearby

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