Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 2002, 6:04 PM EDT for Halifax County, Pittsylvania County, Virginia. It was in force for 26 min. 6 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, 6:04 PM EDT (22:04 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 28, 2002, 6:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 26 min
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Halifax County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 102 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:05 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, 6:15 PM EDT | Hail 1 | Halifax, VA | |
| Apr 28, 6:15 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Halifax, VA | |
| Apr 28, 6:15 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Clover, VA | |
| Apr 28, 6:15 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Volens, VA | |
| Apr 28, 6:25 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Halifax, VA | |
| Apr 28, 6:30 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Nathalie, 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, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 54 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.
888 WFUS51 KRNK 282204 TORRNK VAC083-143-282230- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 603 PM EDT SUN APR 28 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHEASTERN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA NORTHERN HALIFAX COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA * UNTIL 630 PM EDT. * AT 600 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF MT AIRY...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED THROUGH 630 PM EDT INCLUDE CODY... NATHALIE... CLOVER... <<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. <<CALL TO ACTION>>IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. 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
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, 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, 6:13 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.