Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 2, 2002Halifax County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at May 2, 2002, 3:34 PM EDT for Halifax 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
May 2, 2002, 3:34 PM EDT (19:34 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2002, 4:00 PM EDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

County Halifax County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:38 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 2, 3:37 PM EDTHail 1.75Clover, VA
May 2, 3:40 PM EDTThunderstorm WindHalifax, VA
May 2, 3:42 PM EDTHail 0.8Halifax, VA
May 2, 3:44 PM EDTHail 1.75Scottsburg, VA
May 2, 3:55 PM EDTHail 2.75Clover, VA
May 2, 3:55 PM EDTHail 2.75Scottsburg, 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 nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 69 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 317 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 382 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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 
WFUS51 KRNK 021934
TORRNK
VAC083-022000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
ISSUED BY NWS RALEIGH NC
334 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  HALIFAX COUNTY IN VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 400 PM EDT

* AT 334 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF HALIFAX...OR ABOUT 11 MILES NORTH OF
  SOUTH BOSTON...MOVING EAST AT 65 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
   CLOVER...SCOTTSBURG AROUND 340 PM EDT

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS 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.

$$

DGS/GH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 1:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKTazewell23 min
May 2, 1:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKMontgomery37 min
May 2, 2:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKFranklin33 min
May 2, 2:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKBedford, Pittsylvania29 min
May 2, 2:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKTazewell39 min
May 2, 2:55 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKTazewell3 hr
May 2, 3:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKHalifax30 min
May 2, 3:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKBland, City of Radford25 min
May 2, 3:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKWythe17 min
May 2, 3:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPulaski, City of Radford27 min
May 2, 4:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKMontgomery26 min
May 2, 4:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKTazewell41 min
May 2, 4:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKBedford, Franklin24 min
May 2, 4:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKFranklin25 min
May 2, 4:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKBland40 min
May 2, 4:45 PM EDTTornado WarningRNKFranklin, Henry15 min
May 2, 4:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKGiles27 min
May 2, 4:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPittsylvania, City of Danville40 min
May 2, 5:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKMontgomery, Pulaski, City of Radford44 min
May 2, 5:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKHalifax46 min
May 2, 5:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKTazewell29 min
May 2, 5:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKRoanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem50 min
May 2, 5:32 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKGiles3 hr
May 2, 5:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKBedford, Franklin39 min
May 2, 5:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKHalifax33 min
May 2, 6:02 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKTazewell3 hr
May 2, 6:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPatrick49 min
May 2, 6:17 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKBland3 hr
May 2, 6:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKPittsylvania23 min
May 2, 7:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKFloyd26 min
May 2, 7:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKTazewell32 min
May 2, 7:30 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKMontgomery, Pulaski2 hr

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.