Alert archive / Washington / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 14, NWS Pendleton, OR

July 7, 2002Yakima County, Washington

NWS Pendleton, OR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 7, 2002, 9:40 PM PDT for Yakima County, Washington. It was in force for 50 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 7, 2002, 9:40 PM PDT (04:40 UTC)
Expired
Jul 7, 2002, 10:30 PM PDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Pendleton, OR
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Yakima County, WA

The radar

The Pendleton radar (KPDT), 116 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:43 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Salem/Mcnary, OR (KSLE), launched 00:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 284 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, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 00:00Z on 2002-07-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 00:00Z on 2002-07-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -5 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1220 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
57 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.

412 
WUUS56 KPDT 080440
SVRPDT
WAC077-080530-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
939 PM PDT SUN JUL 7 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PENDLETON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL YAKIMA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON

* UNTIL 1030 PM PDT

* AT 939 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF SUNNYSIDE...MOVING NORTH
  AT 55 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  RURAL EASTERN YAKIMA COUNTY AT 950 PM PDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...
DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. IF YOU ARE
IN ITS PATH...TAKE COVER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE AWAY FROM WINDOWS
UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

LAT...LON 4621 12001 4612 11987 4662 11989 4669 12018

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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 7, 8:30 PM PDT, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 8:30 PM PDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
830 PM PDT SUN JUL 7 2002

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS CROSSING OVER THE CASCADES.  THE SYSTEM IS
LIFTING THE WARM MOIST LOW LEVEL AIR EAST OF THE CASCADES RESULTING
IN SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS.  SEVERAL THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN SEVERE
WITH WITH .75 INCH HAIL AND WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH.  THE
STRONGEST WIND GUST REPORTED SO FAR IS 76 MPH AT THE PASCO AIRPORT.
THESE WINDS HAVE REDUCED VISIBILITIES BRIEFLY TO AS LOW AS ONE
QUARTER MILE IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN AND ALONG THE FOOTHILLS OF THE
BLUES.

THE FIRST BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS MOVED INTO THE NORTHERN PORTION
OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN.  HOWEVER...A SECOND BAND OVER CENTRAL OREGON
IS SHOWING SIGNS OF INCREASING IN INTENSITY AS IT MOVES NORTH THIS
EVENING.

PDT 3200  ALW 3200  PSC 3000  YKM 3000

KPDT...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...NONE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pendleton, OR issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 7, 7:11 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTBenton, Franklin49 min
Jul 7, 7:52 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTFranklin38 min
Jul 7, 9:04 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTBenton41 min
Jul 7, 9:57 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTBenton, Franklin48 min
Jul 7, 11:21 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTColumbia69 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Washington, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.