Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 2, 2002Franklin County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 2002, 2:27 PM EDT for Franklin County, Virginia. It was in force for 33 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: May 2, 2002, 2:27 PM EDT (18:27 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 2002, 3:00 PM EDT
In force: 33 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Whole counties

County Franklin County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:27 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
May 2, 2:31 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Boones Mill, VA
May 2, 2:45 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Boones Mill, VA
May 2, 2:45 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Burnt Chimney, VA
May 2, 3:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Penhook, VA

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
May 2, 12:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 41 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: 317 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 667 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 382 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 418 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS51 KRNK 021827
SVRRNK
VAC067-021900-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
ISSUED BY NWS RALEIGH NC
227 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 300 PM EDT

* AT 227 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 17 MILES NORTHWEST OF ROCKY MOUNT...OR ABOUT 4
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF CAVE SPRING...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
   ROCKY MOUNT BY 250 PM EDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD PREPARE
FOR DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...PREFERABLY
INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

$$

GIH/DGS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 2, 1:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Tazewell	23 min
May 2, 1:53 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery	37 min
May 2, 2:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford, Pittsylvania	29 min
May 2, 2:51 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Tazewell	39 min
May 2, 2:55 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Tazewell	3 hr
May 2, 3:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Halifax	30 min
May 2, 3:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bland, City of Radford	25 min
May 2, 3:34 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Halifax	26 min
May 2, 3:43 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Wythe	17 min
May 2, 3:48 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pulaski, City of Radford	27 min
May 2, 4:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery	26 min
May 2, 4:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Tazewell	41 min
May 2, 4:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford, Franklin	24 min
May 2, 4:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Franklin	25 min
May 2, 4:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bland	40 min
May 2, 4:45 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Franklin, Henry	15 min
May 2, 4:48 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Giles	27 min
May 2, 4:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pittsylvania, City of Danville	40 min
May 2, 5:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery, Pulaski, City of Radford	44 min
May 2, 5:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Halifax	46 min
May 2, 5:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Tazewell	29 min
May 2, 5:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem	50 min
May 2, 5:32 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Giles	3 hr
May 2, 5:36 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford, Franklin	39 min
May 2, 5:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Halifax	33 min
May 2, 6:02 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Tazewell	3 hr
May 2, 6:11 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Patrick	49 min
May 2, 6:17 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Bland	3 hr
May 2, 6:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pittsylvania	23 min
May 2, 7:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Floyd	26 min
May 2, 7:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Tazewell	32 min
May 2, 7:30 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Montgomery, Pulaski	2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.