Alert archive / California / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 16, NWS Reno, NV

July 17, 2002Nevada County, Placer County, Sierra County, California; Washoe County, Nevada

NWS Reno, NV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 2002, 2:03 PM PDT for Nevada County, Placer County, Sierra County, California; Washoe County, Nevada. It was in force for 42 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 17, 2002, 2:03 PM PDT (21:03 UTC)
Expired: Jul 17, 2002, 2:45 PM PDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Reno, NV
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Nevada County, CA, Placer County, CA, Sierra County, CA, Washoe County, NV

The radar

The Reno radar (KRGX), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:06 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

Reno, NV (KREV), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 158 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 2800 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 64 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 94 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.

382 
WUUS55 KREV 172103
SVRREV
CAC057-061-091-NVC031-510-172145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
201 PM PDT WED JUL 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN NEVADA COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
  THIS INCLUDES...PROSSER CREEK RESERVOIR AND BOCA RESERVOIR         
  NORTHEASTERN PLACER COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF KINGS BEACH
  SOUTHEASTERN SIERRA COUNTY IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA   THIS INCLUDES  
  VERDI AND STAMPEDE RESERVOIR
  WEST CENTRAL CARSON CITY IN WESTERN NEVADA
  SOUTHWESTERN WASHOE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEVADA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF INCLINE VILLAGE

* UNTIL 245 PM PDT

* AT 156 PM PDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
  CRYSTAL BAY...OR ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTH OF INCLINE VILLAGE...MOVING
  NORTH AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  4 MILES EAST OF KINGS BEACH AT 210 PM PDT
  OVER FLORISTON...4 MILES EAST OF HIRSCHDALE AT 235 PM PDT          
  ...4 MILES EAST OF BOCA RESEVOIR AT 240 PM PDT
  6 MILES SOUTH OF VERDI...6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF STAMPEDE RESERVOIR

LARGE HAIL OVER AN INCH IN DIAMETER IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE 
THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN 
A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A STRONG
BUILDING. DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. STAY INSIDE AWAY
FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

REPORT DAMAGING WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE.

LAT...LON 3911 12004 3915 11981 3959 11991 3952 12025

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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 17, 9:45 AM PDT, 4 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 9:45 AM PDT, 4 hours 18 minutes before

WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
945 AM PDT WED JUL 17 2002

WEAK UPPER LOW AND VORT MAX OFF CENTRAL CA CST NEAR SFO BAY AREA
NOTED ON WATER VAPOR LOOP. THIS FEATURE FORECAST TO MOVE SLOWLY ENE
NEXT 36 HOURS MOVING OVER WRN NV THU AFTN. MORNING SOUNDING AT REV
A LITTLE MORE MOIST AND UNSTABLE WITH PRECIP WATER NEAR THREE QUARTERS
OF AN INCH. TRIGGER TEMP FOR CONVECTION AROUND 81 DEG F AT 17Z WITH
VIS LOOP SHOWING RAPID GROWTH OF CU ALONG MTNS. BEST FOCUSING FOR
STRONGER TSTMS OVER  MINERAL COUNTY WHERE CONVERGENCE/DIVERGENCE
COUPLET FORECAST. WITH 15KT WINDS AT 700 MB CELL MOVEMENT SHOULD
BE FAST ENOUGH KEEP FF POTENTIAL IN MODERATE RANGE. THETA-E RIDGE OVER
E CENTRAL NV WITH NEG THETA-E ADVECTION FROM APPROACHING TROUGH.
MICROBURST POTENTIAL ALSO MODERATE WITH LOWER CCL AND TEMPS DUE TO
INCREASING CLOUDS AND MOISTURE. BETTER POTENTIAL FOR STRONGER AND
WETTER TSTMS ON THURSDAY AS VORT MAX MOVES OVER AREA AND MOISTURE
VALUES UP FROM TODAY CONVECTION. NO UPDATES. CYLKE

.REV...NONE.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Reno, NV issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 17, 1:53 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Lassen, Plumas	22 min
Jul 17, 2:37 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Lassen, Plumas	33 min
Jul 17, 3:01 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Lassen, Plumas, Sierra	29 min
Jul 17, 2:53 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Pershing	37 min
Jul 17, 3:35 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Washoe	40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in California, 2002 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nevada, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.