Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 61, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 2, 2002Rockingham County, North Carolina

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 2002, 7:00 PM EDT for Rockingham County, North Carolina. It was in force for 45 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: May 2, 2002, 7:00 PM EDT (23:00 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 2002, 7:45 PM EDT
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Whole counties

County Rockingham County, NC

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:02 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
May 2, 7:09 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Eden, NC

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, 4:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr
May 2, 5:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 37 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: 813 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -254 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 693 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 167 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 243 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS51 KRNK 022300
SVRRNK
NCC157-022345-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  ROCKINGHAM COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 745 PM EDT.

* AT 700 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES EAST OF STONEVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 45
  MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED THROUGH 745 PM EDT INCLUDE
  STONEVILLE...
  WENTWORTH...
  REIDSVILLE...
  MAYFIELD...

<<CALL TO ACTION>>VERY LARGE HAIL 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.

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

$$

08

LAT...LON 3652 7996 3627 8000 3626 7956 3652 7954

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 2, 3:45 PM EDT, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 3:45 PM EDT, 3 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA...ISSUED BY CHARLESTON WV
345 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

BLACKSBURG TOOK LIGHTNING STRIKE SO CHARLESTON IS BACKING UP.
PRIMARILY ADJUSTMENTS DONE TO THE FORECAST RATHER THEN WHOLE SALE
CHANGES.  PRIMARY CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED PERIODS WHERE TEMPERATURES
ON LATER MODEL RUNS LOOK WARMER THEN PREVIOUS.  FLOW IS WEAK IN
LATER PERIODS AND WITH WARMER TEMPERATURES THE CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION WILL BE AROUND FOR A GOOD PART OF THE WEEK.

SYSTEM SATURDAY STILL LOOKS WEAK AND WILL BE BRIEF AND KEPT TO THE
SOUTHERN PORTION OF FORECAST AREA.

.RNK...
NC...MISSING.
VA...MISSING.
WV...MISSING.

AAR

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 2, 1:48 PM EDT, 5 hours 12 minutes before

VAZ013-014-017-022-023-021815-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
148 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE ROANOKE AND NEW
RIVER VALLEYS BETWEEN 150 PM AND 205 PM. WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH...
SMALL HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.
LOCATIONS SUCH AS CATAWBA...BLACKSBURG...AND DUBLIN COULD SEE THE
STRONGEST WINDS. TAKE SHELTER INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING UNTIL THE
STORM HAS PASSED.

WHP

Local storm report, May 2, 3:57 PM EDT, 3 hours 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
ISSUED BY NWS RALEIGH NC
455 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0340 PM    SCOTTSBORO                VA   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/02/02   HALIFAX

0335 PM    11 N SOUTH BOSTON         VA   TORNADO
05/02/02   HALIFAX                        TORNADO TOUCHDOWN REPORTED

MJB/SWH

Local storm report, May 2, 4:55 PM EDT, 2 hours 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
ISSUED BY NWS RALEIGH NC
455 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0340 PM    SCOTTSBORO                VA   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/02/02   HALIFAX

0335 PM    11 N SOUTH BOSTON         VA   TORNADO
05/02/02   HALIFAX                        TORNADO TOUCHDOWN REPORTED

MJB/SWH

Local storm report, May 2, 5:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
530 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0438 PM    HENRY                     VA   GOLFBALL HAIL
05/02/02   FRANKLIN

0344 PM    SCOTTSBURG                VA   GOLFBALL HAIL
05/02/02   HALIFAX

0342 PM    HALIFAX                   VA   PENNY (0.80) HAIL
05/02/02   HALIFAX

0303 PM    MONETA/BEDFORD            VA   TELEPHONE POLES (2)
05/02/02   BEDFORD                        SNAPPED OFF

0320 PM    PITTSVILLE                VA   LARGE TREES DOWN IN
05/02/02   PITTSYLVANIA                   YARD

0310 PM    GRETNA                    VA   TELEPHONE POLES DOWN
05/02/02   PITTSYLVANIA

0140 PM    CAMP CREEK                WV   FLASH FLOODING OF
05/02/02   MERCER                         SMAL STREAMS AND
                                          CULVERTS OVERFLOWING
                                          SPOTTERS

0259 PM    MATOAKA                   WV   ROADS FLOODED AND
05/02/02   MERCER                         WASHED OUT. DEBRIS
                                          COVERING ROADS.
                                          FLOODING ON BLUESTONE
                                          RIVER.

0231 PM    BOONES MILL               VA   WINDS 60 MPH.
05/02/02   FRANKLIN                       LARGE TREES FELL ON CAR.

0300 PM    1/2 MI S BURNT CHIMNEY    VA   WIND DAMAGE.
05/02/02   FRANKLIN                       ROUTE 122 CLOSED DUE TO
                                          DOWNED TREES.

0138 PM    BLACKSBURG                VA   67 MPH WIND AT NWS
05/02/02   MONTGOMERY                     OFFICE.

0335 PM    BLAND                     VA   QUARTER SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   BLAND

0509 PM    CALLANDS                  VA   GOLFBALL HAIL.
05/02/02   PITTSYLVANIA

JW

Local storm report, May 2, 6:30 PM EDT, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
630 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0535 PM    SOUTH BOSTON              VA   HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   HALIFAX

0540 PM    SCOTTSBURG                VA   ONE INCH HAIL.
05/02/02   HALIFAX

0545 PM    SOUTH BOSTON              VA   THREE INCH HAIL.
05/02/02   HALIFAX

0350 PM    MAX MEADOWS               VA   NICKEL (0.88) SIZE
05/02/02   WYTHE                          HAIL.

0539 PM    5 MI S OF BENT MOUNTIAN   VA   DIME SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   ROANOKE

0244 PM    RICHLANDS                 VA   CREEK OUT OF BANKS.
05/02/02   TAZEWELL

0355 PM    DUBLIN                    VA   DIME SIZE HAIL
05/02/02   PULASKI                        COVERING GROUND.

0400 PM    DUBLIN                    VA   GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   PULASKI

0400 PM    RADFORD                   VA   DIME SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   PULASKI

0403 PM    RADFORD                   VA   QUARTER SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   PULASKI

0405 PM    NEW BERN                  VA   QUARTER SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   PULASKI

0406 PM    RADFORD CITY              VA   QUARTER SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   MONTGOMERY

0350 PM    1 MI S OF DUBLIN          VA   BASEBALL SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   PULASKI

0405 PM    VOLVO FACTORY DUBLIN      VA   QUARTER SIZE HAIL.
05/02/02   PULASKI

0410 PM    DUBLIN                    VA   PING PONG BALL SIZE
05/02/02   PULASKI                        HAIL.

JW

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 1, 11:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Ashe, Watauga	46 min
May 1, 11:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Wilkes	41 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 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.