Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Morristown, TN
NWS Morristown, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 2002, 3:06 PM EDT for Lee County, Virginia. It was in force for 24 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
- Apr 28, 2002, 3:06 PM EDT (19:06 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 28, 2002, 3:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 24 min
- Issued by
- NWS Morristown, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lee County, VA
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:08 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 3:20 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Jonesville, VA |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 1:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 4 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 297 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 23 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -137 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 464 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 268 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 294 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WFUS54 KMRX 281906 TORMRX VAC105-281930- /NEW.KMRX.TO.W.0013.281906-281930/ BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 306 PM EDT SUN APR 28 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MORRISTOWN HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... LEE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA * UNTIL 330 PM EDT * AT 303 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR ROSE HILL...OR 9 MILES WEST OF JONESVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. * THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... JONESVILLE AROUND 315 PM EDT PENNINGTON GAP AROUND 320 PM EDT 7 MILES SOUTH OF DRYDEN AROUND 325 PM EDT 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 A MOBILE HOME OR VEHICLE...LEAVE IT IMMEDIATELY AND GET INSIDE A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. $$ LAT...LON 3680 8335 3663 8337 3667 8305 3681 8288
The office that day
Everything else NWS Morristown, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Lee | 49 min |
| Apr 28, 3:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Scott | 41 min |
| Apr 28, 3:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Washington, City of Bristol | 45 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 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.