Alert archive / Ohio / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Wilmington, OH

May 2, 2002Fairfield County, Ohio

NWS Wilmington, OH issued this tornado warning at May 2, 2002, 12:44 AM EDT for Fairfield County, Ohio. It was in force for 31 min. 1 report 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
May 2, 2002, 12:44 AM EDT (04:44 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2002, 1:15 AM EDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, OH
Area
Whole counties

County Fairfield County, OH

The radar

The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 108 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:46 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 2, 12:47 AM EDTThunderstorm Wind 55 EBaltimore, OHNear Bader and Basil roads, winds topped off trees and knocked down power poles and power lines.

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 nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 106 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2002-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 93 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2002-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 256 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
93 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-128 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1044 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
256 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
311 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KILN 020444
TORILN
OHC045-020515-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1244 AM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  FAIRFIELD COUNTY IN CENTRAL OHIO...

* UNTIL 115 AM EDT...

* AT 1244 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 4 MILES WEST OF
  BALTIMORE...OR ABOUT 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PICKERINGTON...MOVING
  EAST AT 50 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  BALTIMORE...
  FAIRFIELD BEACH...
  MILLERSPORT...
  PLEASANTVILLE...

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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.

$$
 TIPTON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 12:18 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNFranklin42 min
May 2, 12:31 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNFairfield44 min
May 2, 3:11 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNClark64 min
May 2, 3:28 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNMadison47 min
May 2, 3:43 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNFranklin47 min
May 2, 3:57 AM EDTTornado WarningILNFairfield, Franklin48 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Ohio, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.