Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Baltimore/Washington

May 9, 2002Albemarle County, Greene County, City of Charlottesville, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 9, 2002, 4:53 PM EDT for Albemarle County, Greene County, City of Charlottesville, Virginia. It was in force for 52 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: May 9, 2002, 4:53 PM EDT (20:53 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 2002, 5:45 PM EDT
In force: 52 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Albemarle County, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA, Greene County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:52 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 9, 5:20 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Esmont, VA	Trees were downed.

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 9, 2:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 135 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: 139 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 537 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 96 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 128 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 
WUUS51 KLWX 092053
SVRLWX
VAC003-079-540-092145-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
453 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  ALBEMARLE COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  GREENE COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 545 PM EDT

* AT 447 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 13 MILES NORTH OF HOLLYMEAD TO 28
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF CROZET...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE...
  OVER CROZET AT 456 PM
  OVER HOLLYMEAD AT 514 PM
  OVER UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS...COMMONWEALTH AT 516 PM
  OVER RIO AT 520 PM
  OVER CHARLOTTESVILLE AT 522 PM

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS 
IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. IF 
SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES...GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER AND STAY AWAY 
FROM DOORS AND WINDOWS.

TUNE INTO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION FOR
THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

LAT...LON 3837 7846 3804 7880 3779 7864 3811 7826


DMW/JLW

The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 4:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Frederick, Warren, City of Winchester	31 min
May 9, 5:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Spotsylvania	51 min
May 9, 7:38 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	LWX		82 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2002 Every 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.