Alert archive / New Jersey / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

June 27, 2002Hunterdon County, Somerset County, New Jersey

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this tornado warning at Jun 27, 2002, 5:18 PM EDT for Hunterdon County, Somerset County, New Jersey. It was in force for 27 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: Jun 27, 2002, 5:18 PM EDT (21:18 UTC)
Expired: Jun 27, 2002, 5:45 PM EDT
In force: 27 min
Issued by: NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area: Whole counties

Counties Hunterdon County, NJ, Somerset County, NJ

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:18 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
Jun 27, 5:35 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Central Portion, NJ

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
Jun 27, 2:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 164 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: 1079 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -75 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 922 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS51 KPHI 272118
TORPHI
NJC019-035-272145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
518 PM EDT THU JUN 27 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOMERSET COUNTY IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
  EASTERN HUNTERDON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST NEW JERSEY

* UNTIL 545 PM EDT.

* AT 513 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WHITE
  HOUSE STATION...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE A
  TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  FAR HILLS AT 525 PM.
  SOMERVILLE...MANVILLE...MILLSTONE AT 530 PM.

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.

DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A
TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STRUCTURE
IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

FOR THE LATEST STORM INFORMATION...PLEASE TUNE TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO...YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION...OR YOUR CABLE
TELEVISION OUTLET.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM THURSDAY
EVENING FOR NORTHWESTERN NEW JERSEY AND EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

$$

LAT...LON 4071 7489 4046 7486 4048 7455 4072 7456

KRUZDLO

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 27, 4:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Hunterdon, Warren	37 min
Jun 27, 5:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Hunterdon, Somerset	40 min
Jun 27, 5:44 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	PHI	Middlesex, Somerset	36 min
Jun 27, 7:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Hunterdon, Warren	47 min
Jun 27, 7:37 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	PHI		113 min
Jun 27, 7:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset	46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in New Jersey, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.