Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Blacksburg, VA

April 28, 2002Charlotte County, Halifax County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 2002, 6:27 PM EDT for Charlotte County, Halifax County, Virginia. It was in force for 33 min. 2 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, 6:27 PM EDT (22:27 UTC)
Expired: Apr 28, 2002, 7:00 PM EDT
In force: 33 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Charlotte County, VA, Halifax County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:30 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, 6:30 PM EDT	Hail 1.75	Nathalie, VA
Apr 28, 6:40 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Red Oak, 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, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 71 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: 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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KRNK 282227
TORRNK
VAC037-083-282300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
627 PM EDT SUN APR 28 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN CHARLOTTE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  NORTHEASTERN HALIFAX COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 700 PM EDT.

* AT 627 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF CLOVER...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED THROUGH 700 PM EDT INCLUDE

  RED OAK...

<<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.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.

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

$$

10

LAT...LON 3702 7890 3686 7899 3663 7845 3684 7833

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, 6:04 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, 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, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.