Alert archive / Connecticut / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 4, NWS New York, NY

May 31, 2002Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut

NWS New York, NY issued this tornado warning at May 31, 2002, 7:36 PM EDT for Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut. It was in force for 39 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 31, 2002, 7:36 PM EDT (23:36 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 2002, 8:15 PM EDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS New York, NY
Area
Whole counties

County Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT

The radar

The Brookhaven radar (KOKX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:38 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 75 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, Brookhaven, NY at 12:00Z on 2002-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 5 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, Brookhaven, NY at 12:00Z on 2002-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 45 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
5 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
663 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
60 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.

006 
WFUS51 KOKX 312336
TOROKX
CTC009-010015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
737 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON NY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY IN SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...WATERBURY...WALLINGFORD...
  SOUTHBURY...NAUGATUCK...MERIDEN

* UNTIL 815 PM EDT

* AT 733 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER SOUTHBURY...OR ABOUT 3 MILES WEST OF SOUTHBURY...
  MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  NAUGATUCK AND BEACON FALLS AROUND 745 PM
  CHESHIRE AROUND 750 PM
  WALLINGFORD AND 4 MILES NORTH OF BETHANY AROUND 755 PM
  6 MILES SOUTH OF MERIDEN AROUND 800 PM

SOME OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE MIDDLEBURY AND SOUTHFORD

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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 AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

$$

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM FRIDAY
EVENING FOR NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY.

LAT...LON 4159 7335 4141 7338 4136 7279 4157 7277

The office that day

Everything else NWS New York, NY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 7:05 PM EDTTornado WarningOKXGreater Bridgeport Planning Region25 min
May 31, 7:24 PM EDTTornado WarningOKXGreater Bridgeport Planning Region36 min
May 31, 7:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXNaugatuck Valley Planning Region47 min
May 31, 7:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOKXSoutheastern Connecticut Planning Region45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Connecticut, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.