Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 147, NWS Baltimore/Washington

July 2, 2002Hardy County, West Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 2, 2002, 9:55 PM EDT for Hardy County, West Virginia. It was in force for 35 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
Jul 2, 2002, 9:55 PM EDT (01:55 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 2002, 10:30 PM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

County Hardy County, WV

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:56 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
Jul 2, 10:05 PM EDTHail 0.75Moorefield, WVDime sized hail fell.

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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 209 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, Roanoke, VA at 00:00Z on 2002-07-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1071 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, Roanoke, VA at 00:00Z on 2002-07-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 62 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1071 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-131 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1137 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
62 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
99 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 2, 3:00 PM EDT, 6 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 3:00 PM EDT, 6 hours 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
300 PM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

SHORT TERM TONIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT...

SHORT RANGE CONCERNS REVOLVE AROUND CONVECTIVE CHCS FOR THE NEXT FEW
DAYS...AND THE CONTINUED HEAT. 12Z MDLS AND 12Z IAD SOUNDING SHOWING
MODERATE INSTABILITY IN PLACE...AND DEVELOPING CONVECTION OVER THE
TERRAIN. GIVEN THE INSTABILITY AVAILABLE...WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO
SEE THIS CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY CONT INTO THE EVE HRS. DON/T SEE A
WHOLE LOT OF AEREAL COVERAGE...SO WL LEAVE SLGT CHC POPS IN THE
EAST...AND LOW CHC POPS IN THE MTNS. ETA AND AVN BOTH SHOW QPF THRU
AROUND MIDNIGHT. HAZY CONDS NOT GOING TO STOP...AND FEEL THAT BR/FG
MAY BECOME AN ISSUE TNGT WITH AMOUNT OF LLVL MOISTURE AVAIL AND
NEARLY CALM WNDS. HV KEPT PATCHY BR ACROSS ALL ZNS TNGT.

HEAT INDICES THIS AFTN ALREADY RUNNING AROUND 100F AT 200 PM.
TMRW...MDLS INDICATING A DEGREE OR TWO WARMER FOR BOTH TEMPS AND
DEWPTS. HEAT INDICES ARE XPCTD TO BE AROUND 105F TMRW. WL KEEP HEAT
ADVISORY ONLY...AND HIGHLIGHT HEAT INDICES TMRW. TNGT...MINS ONLY
XPCTD TO BE IN THE M/U70S AND THE SAME GOES FOR TMRW NGT...DEPENDING
ON AEREAL EXTENT AND IMPACT OF ANY CONVECTION. THIS SPELLS NOT MUCH
RELIEF FROM THE HEAT OVERNIGHT...AS HUMIDITIES WL BE VRY HIGH.

WIND FIELD SLIGHTLY IMPROVES TOMORROW...AND SOME WK UPR FORCING MAY
COME INTO PLAY...AND PLAN ON KEEPING CHC POPS AREAWIDE...AS SHOULD
SEE MORE TSRA DEVELOPING TMRW AFTN/EVE.

MANNING

...LONGER TERM...THU THRU MON...

THU FCST A BIT TRICKY BECAUSE TIMING OF FROPA IS IN QUESTION. ETA A
BIT FASTER DROPPING FRONT SWARD THRU CWA MIDDAY THU...AVN CLOSER TO
LATE AFT. BDRY HARD TO FIND DUE TO RELATIVELY LIGHT SFC WIND FIELD
AND THE FACT MODELS FCSTING SFC WINDS TO TURN NW PRIOR TO FROPA IN
RESPONSE TO WEAK LOW PASSING E OF DELMARVA THU AFT.

850MB FRONT EASY TO LOCATE. IT PASSES THRU 18Z TO 02Z FROM N TO
S...SIMILAR TO TIMING OF POSITIVE LI BDRY WHICH WILL STABILIZE AIR.
SINCE TEMPS WILL BE MOST DEPENDENT ON 850MB TEMPS WILL GO WITH
WARMER SOLN PUTTING HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S...WITH
WARMEST READINGS S CWA. IF WINDS TURN NW WE WILL SEE DOWNSLOPE
WARMING SO ANOTHER REASON TO GO WARMER. ENOUGH BDRYS IN AREA...SFC
AND 850MB FRONT IN ADDITION TO WEAK LEE TROF...TO TRIGGER SCT
CONVECTION. SOME DRYING IN LOW LEVELS AND LOWER INSTABILITY WILL BE
PRESENT AS COMPARED TO WED...SO STORMS SHUD PACK LESS OF A PUNCH.
HAVE LEFT CHANCE OF CONVECTION IN THROUGH MIDNIGHT WHEN POSITIVE
LIS AND LOSS OF HEATING NEGATE PRECIP THREAT.

BEHIND COLD FRONT...850MB TEMPS ONLY DROP FROM +18 TO +12 BUT MUCH
DRIER AIRMASS FOLLOWS THANKS TO CANADIAN HIGH PRES. EXPECTING MUCH
LESS HUMID AIR AND NEAR NORMAL TEMPS WITH PLENTY OF SUNSHINE FRI
THRU SUN. THERE IS A CUTOFF LOW OVER MAINE DURING THAT TIME BUT
MODELS INSIST THAT CLDS WILL STAY WELL NE OF CWA. BY MON...ANOTHER
FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NW AND WINDS START TO TURN S AGAIN...SCT
CLDS EXPECTED WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFT PRECIP...WILL HAVE SILENT
20 POP FOR NOW.

MMARGRAF

.LWX...
DC...HEAT ADVISORY THRU WEDNESDAY FOR ZONE DCZ001.
MD...HEAT ADVISORY THRU WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES MDZ002>007...
MDZ009>011...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.
VA...HEAT ADVISORY THRU WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES VAZ025>031...
VAZ036>042...VAZ050>057.
WV...HEAT ADVISORY THRU WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES WVZ048>053...WVZ055.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 2, 6:06 PM EDT, 3 hours 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
606 PM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0600 PM    MCDOWELL                  VA   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/02/02   HIGHLAND                       SHERIFFS OFFICE REPORT
                                          NEAR MCDOWELL

MANNING

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in West Virginia, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.