Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 3, NWS St. Louis, MO

April 24, 2002Washington County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at Apr 24, 2002, 3:35 PM CDT for Washington County, Missouri. It was in force for 25 min. 1 report 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
Apr 24, 2002, 3:35 PM CDT (20:35 UTC)
Expired
Apr 24, 2002, 4:00 PM CDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Washington County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:34 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
Apr 24, 3:55 PM CDTTornado F1Caledonia, MOA tornado formed in southeast Washington County just south of Caledonia. The tornado formed in a wooded area them moved east to a home near Highway 21 and Buford Farm Road. An unoccupied mobile home was destroyed and several vehicles were severely damaged.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 24, 2:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 283 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2002-04-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1336 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2002-04-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 464 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1336 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-146 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
872 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
464 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
421 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KLSX 242035
TORSTL
MOC221-242100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
333 PM CDT WED APR 24 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI

* UNTIL 400 PM CDT

* AT 333 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  TWO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG ROTATION. ONE WAS 7 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF COURTOIS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON COUNTY. THE OTHER 
  WAS 7 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF POTOSI. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE 
  MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH...AND MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH...
  BELGRADE
  CALEDONIA
  POTOSI
  IRONDALE

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...SEEK SHELTER NOW MOVE TO A
BASEMENT...UNDERGROUND STORM SHELTER...OR AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY
ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF A STURDY BUILDING.

LAT...LON 3814 9102 3775 9111 3773 9065 3809 9065

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 24, 11:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX57 min
Apr 24, 12:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX35 min
Apr 24, 12:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX29 min
Apr 24, 12:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX45 min
Apr 24, 12:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX29 min
Apr 24, 1:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX49 min
Apr 24, 1:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX25 min
Apr 24, 1:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX54 min
Apr 24, 2:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX14 min
Apr 24, 2:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX54 min
Apr 24, 2:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX25 min
Apr 24, 3:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX60 min
Apr 24, 3:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX47 min
Apr 24, 3:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX16 min
Apr 24, 3:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX33 min
Apr 24, 3:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX61 min
Apr 24, 3:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX33 min
Apr 24, 3:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX48 min
Apr 24, 4:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX16 min
Apr 24, 4:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX41 min
Apr 24, 4:46 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXMadison29 min
Apr 24, 4:56 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXMadison19 min
Apr 24, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 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.