Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 270
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 9, 2002, 6:15 PM EDT for Somerset County, Maryland; 9 counties in North Carolina; 45 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 9, 2002, 6:15 PM EDT (22:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 2002, 11:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 55 counties
Somerset County, MD, Caswell County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Granville County, NC, Person County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Stokes County, NC, Vance County, NC, Warren County, NC, Yadkin County, NC, Accomack County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Charlotte County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Martinsville, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Halifax County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Henry County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:17 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.
Warnings issued inside it
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 6:16 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Henry, City of Martinsville | 44 min |
| May 9, 6:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Caroline, Hanover | 31 min |
| May 9, 6:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Hanover, King William | 29 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 101 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
- 139 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -17 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 537 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 96 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 128 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 092221 SEL0 SPC WW 092217 COR NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-100300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 270...CORRECTED BEGIN TIME STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 617 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN NORTH CAROLINA SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA SOUTHERN CHESAPEAKE BAY AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 615 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT. HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES EAST OF GREENSBORO NORTH CAROLINA TO 40 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF WALLOPS VIRGINIA. REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 269. WATCH NUMBER 269 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 615 PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 270... DISCUSSION...LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY OVER CENTRAL VA. THESE STORMS SHOULD SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHEAST VA AND NORTHERN NC DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY THE MAIN THREAT. AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035. CORRECTED ISSUANCE TIME. ...HART 380,0744 360,0780 360,0804 380,0773 WWUS20 KWNS 092221 SEL0 SPC WW 092217 COR NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-100300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 270...CORRECTED BEGIN TIME STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 617 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN NORTH CAROLINA SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA SOUTHERN CHESAPEAKE BAY AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 615 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT. HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES EAST OF GREENSBORO NORTH CAROLINA TO 40 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF WALLOPS VIRGINIA. REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 269. WATCH NUMBER 269 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 615 PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 270... DISCUSSION...LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY OVER CENTRAL VA. THESE STORMS SHOULD SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHEAST VA AND NORTHERN NC DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY THE MAIN THREAT. AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035. CORRECTED ISSUANCE TIME. ...HART 380,0744 360,0780 360,0804 380,0773
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery and 1 more | 5 hr |
| May 9, 11:30 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee and 16 more | 6 hr |
| May 9, 7:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Davidson, Gaston, Iredell and 7 more | 4 hr |
| May 9, 11:15 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott and 5 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Virginia, 2002Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Carolina, 2002Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Maryland, 2002Every severe thunderstorm watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.