Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 28, 2002, 4:05 PM EDT for Bedford County, Virginia. It was in force for 40 min. 4 reports 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, 4:05 PM EDT (20:05 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 28, 2002, 4:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 40 min
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Bedford County, VA
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:04 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, 4:31 PM EDT | Tornado F1 | Bedford City, VA | A tornado formed in Bedford City and traveled east 1/2 mile before dissipating. The tornado destroyed four businesses and damaged 25 homes, 58 businesses, several dozen vehicles, and one church. |
| Apr 28, 4:32 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Bedford City, VA | |
| Apr 28, 4:40 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Goode, VA | |
| Apr 28, 4:43 PM EDT | Tornado F2 | Bedford City, VA | A second tornado developed 8 miles east-southeast of Bedford City in Bedford County and remained on the ground for 5 miles before crossing over into Campbell County. This tornado injured one person, destroyed seven homes, three businesses, and about two dozen |
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, 3:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 13 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
- 17 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -448 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 642 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 370 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 435 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
478 WUUS51 KRNK 282005 SVRRNK VAC019-515-282045- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 403 PM EDT SUN APR 28 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... BEDFORD COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA BEDFORD CITY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA * UNTIL 445 PM EDT. * AT 403 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 21 MILES NORTHWEST OF BEDFORD CITY...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH. HAIL UP TO GOLF BALL SIZE IN DIAMETER CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. WINDS UP TO 70 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED THROUGH 445 PM EDT INCLUDE BEDFORD CITY... <<CALL TO ACTION>>IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER. REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER THAT TORNADOES CAN OCCUR WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCED WARNING. RELAY SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4. $$ 10 LAT...LON 3753 7942 3731 7980 3716 7942 3747 7926
The office that day
Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 3:43 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Craig, Giles | 47 min |
| Apr 28, 3:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Botetourt | 22 min |
| Apr 28, 4:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem | 49 min |
| Apr 28, 4:41 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Wythe | 49 min |
| Apr 28, 4:47 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Bedford, Campbell, City of Lynchburg | 28 min |
| Apr 28, 5:13 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Appomattox | 47 min |
| Apr 28, 5:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Franklin | 25 min |
| Apr 28, 5:27 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Campbell | 48 min |
| Apr 28, 5:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Charlotte | 30 min |
| Apr 28, 5:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Bedford | 26 min |
| Apr 28, 5:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Pittsylvania | 46 min |
| Apr 28, 5:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Henry, City of Martinsville | 25 min |
| Apr 28, 5:57 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Charlotte | 33 min |
| Apr 28, 6:04 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Halifax, Pittsylvania | 26 min |
| Apr 28, 6:13 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Pittsylvania, City of Danville | 47 min |
| Apr 28, 6:27 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Charlotte, Halifax | 33 min |
| Apr 28, 7:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Bland, Tazewell | 34 min |
| Apr 28, 7:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Pulaski | 39 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.