Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Indianapolis, IN

May 1, 2002Lawrence County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at May 1, 2002, 6:25 PM EST for Lawrence County, Indiana. It was in force for 35 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 1, 2002, 6:25 PM EST (23:25 UTC)
Expired: May 1, 2002, 7:00 PM EST
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lawrence County, IN

The radar

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 97 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:25 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
May 1, 6:29 PM EST	Hail 1.75	Mitchell, IN
May 1, 6:38 PM EST	Hail 1.75	Bedford, IN
May 1, 7:09 PM EST	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Mitchell, IN	Six trees down

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
May 1, 3:45 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 227 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1126 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 72 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 207 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 327 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 
WFUS53 KIND 012325
TORIND
INC093-020000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
625 PM EST WED MAY 1 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LAWRENCE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BEDFORD

* UNTIL 700 PM EST

* AT 625 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF OOLITIC...OR ABOUT 9 MILES WEST OF BEDFORD...MOVING
  EAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  BEDFORD AT 630 PM EST
  MITCHELL AT 635 PM EST

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. IF NO
BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...GO TO THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM. GET UNDER STURDY FURNITURE OR USE BLANKETS
OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.

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.

LAT...LON 3894 8670 3875 8670 3869 8632 3898 8633

DRT/JEZ

The office that day

Everything else NWS Indianapolis, IN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 1, 3:17 PM EST	Tornado Warning	IND	Knox	28 min
May 1, 3:47 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Daviess, Knox	28 min
May 1, 5:21 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Sullivan	24 min
May 1, 5:35 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	IND	Greene, Sullivan	55 min
May 1, 5:36 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	IND	Greene, Sullivan	114 min
May 1, 5:36 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Greene	24 min
May 1, 5:51 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Daviess, Knox, Martin	24 min
May 1, 5:57 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Greene, Lawrence	33 min
May 1, 6:13 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Martin	17 min
May 1, 6:21 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	IND	Lawrence	54 min
May 1, 6:21 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	IND	Lawrence	114 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.