Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 2002, 4:47 PM EDT for Bedford County, Campbell County, City of Lynchburg, Virginia. It was in force for 28 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, 4:47 PM EDT (20:47 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 28, 2002, 5:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 28 min
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Bedford County, VA, Campbell County, VA, City of Lynchburg, VA
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:49 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, 4:50 PM EDT | Tornado F2 | Rustburg, VA | The second tornado continued in Campbell County for about 5 miles before lifting about 5.5 miles west-northwest of Rustburg in Campbell County. This tornado injured 11 people, destroyed 15 homes, three businesses, and a church. The tornado damaged over 200 ot |
| Apr 28, 4:57 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Rustburg, VA | |
| Apr 28, 4:58 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Forest, VA | |
| Apr 28, 5:00 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Rustburg, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 3:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 25 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.
000 WFUS51 KRNK 282047 TORRNK VAC019-031-680-282115- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 447 PM EDT SUN APR 28 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... EAST CENTRAL BEDFORD COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA LYNCHBURG CITY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA NORTHERN CAMPBELL COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA * UNTIL 515 PM EDT. * AT 444 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO BETWEEN BEDFORD CITY AND FOREST...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED THROUGH 515 PM EDT INCLUDE LYNCHBURG CITY... RUSTBURG... <<CALL TO ACTION>>THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. RELAY SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4. $$ 02 LAT...LON 3749 7941 3731 7946 3715 7894 3741 7901
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, 4:05 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Bedford | 40 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, 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
Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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.