Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 36, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 2, 2002Monroe County, West Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 2002, 1:43 AM EDT for Monroe County, West Virginia. It was in force for 32 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 2, 2002, 1:43 AM EDT (05:43 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 2002, 2:15 AM EDT
In force: 32 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Whole counties

County Monroe County, WV

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:42 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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 101 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: 372 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1156 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 210 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 382 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.6
Supercell composite: 3.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS51 KRNK 020543
SVRRNK
WVC063-020615-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
143 AM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MONROE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 215 AM EDT.

* AT 142 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 12 MILES WEST OF UNION...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 55
  MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED THROUGH 215 AM EDT INCLUDE
  UNION...

<<CALL TO ACTION>>SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH
LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. PREPARE TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN
A STURDY STRUCTURE SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM IF A
TORNADO IS SPOTTED.

RELAY SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY
CALLING TOLL FREE...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4.

$$

11

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 1, 8:34 PM EDT, 5 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 8:34 PM EDT, 5 hours 9 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
830 PM EDT MAY 1 2002

STRONGEST CELLS IN LEADING MCS OVER ERN KY SHOULD REMAIN ON ITS SRN
EDGE. SVR WX SHOULD STAY SW OF THE FA.  THE OVERALL MVMNT OF THE MCS
SHOULD REMAIN ESE...CLOSE TO THE STNRY/WRM FNT. CORFIDI VECTORS FROM
THE 18Z MODELS SUPPORT THIS MVMNT. MORE TSRA ARE DEVELOPING BEHIND
THIS INTIAL MCS IN SE IN AND NRN KY AND IT LOOKS LIKE MOST OF THIS
ACTIVITY WILL BE MOVG ACROSS THE CWA LATER TONITE. WILL RAISE POPS
ALL ZONES- CATEG MTNS TO LIKELY FOR THE BLUE RIDGE AND
EASTWARD...MAY KEEP SOME OF THE PIEDMONT CHC. DON/T SEE MUCH CHC OF
TSTMS IN NERN SECTIONS LIKE ARND LYH...BUT WILL NOT TAKE IT OUT
SINCE IT IS ALREADY IN THE FCST. UPDATE WILL BE OUT SHORTLY SINCE
TSRA ARE ON OUR DOORSTEP.

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

JJ

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 1, 10:34 PM EDT, 3 hours 9 minutes before

NCZ001-002-018-019-020400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1034 PM EDT WED MAY 1 2002

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHWESTERN
NORTH CAROLINA...

AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING ACROSS FAR SOUTHWESTERN
VIRGINIA...AND THE NORTHEASTERN CORNER OF TENNESSEE.  THE STORMS
SHOULD REACH NORTH CAROLINA BETWEEN 11 AND 11:30 PM.  HEAVY
DOWNPOURS...AND HAIL...ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

BS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 2, 1:20 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Summers	25 min
May 2, 1:12 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Mercer	3 hr
May 2, 4:28 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Mercer	3 hr
May 2, 6:41 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Monroe	3 hr
May 2, 7:30 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Mercer	2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in West Virginia, 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.