Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2002
Tornado Watch 177
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 28, 2002, 6:00 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 28, 2002, 6:00 PM EDT (22:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 28, 2002, 10:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 63 counties
Kent County, DE, New Castle County, DE, Sussex County, DE, Calvert County, MD, Caroline County, MD, Cecil County, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Kent County, MD, Queen Anne's County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Talbot County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Atlantic County, NJ, Cape May County, NJ, Cumberland County, NJ, Salem County, NJ, Accomack County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Norfolk, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Portsmouth, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Virginia Beach, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Isle of Wight 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, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:04 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
13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 6:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Lunenburg | 44 min |
| Apr 28, 6:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Lunenburg | 28 min |
| Apr 28, 6:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Dinwiddie | 45 min |
| Apr 28, 6:48 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's | 42 min |
| Apr 28, 6:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Mecklenburg | 47 min |
| Apr 28, 7:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Brunswick | 44 min |
| Apr 28, 7:02 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, Saint Mary's | 43 min |
| Apr 28, 7:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Greensville, City of Emporia | 31 min |
| Apr 28, 7:44 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Dorchester | 46 min |
| Apr 28, 7:44 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Calvert | 31 min |
| Apr 28, 7:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Southampton, City of Franklin | 31 min |
| Apr 28, 8:21 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Wicomico | 44 min |
| Apr 28, 9:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Worcester | 46 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 93 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
- 23 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -94 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 468 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 58 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 394 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 418 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 282201 SEL7 SPC WW 282157 DEZ000-MDZ000-NJZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-290200- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 177 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 557 PM EDT SUN APR 28 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF DELAWARE EASTERN MARYLAND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY EASTERN VIRGINIA AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 600 PM UNTIL 1000 PM EDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES SOUTH OF RICHMOND VIRGINIA TO 15 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF ATLANTIC CITY NEW JERSEY. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND 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. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 169...WW 171...WW 172...WW 173...WW 174...WW 175...WW 176... DISCUSSION...CLUSTERS AND LINES OF SEVERE STORMS OVER PA/VA WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK EASTWARD TOWARD THE MID ATLANTIC COAST DURING THE EVENING. AIRMASS HAS DESTABILIZED ALL THE WAY TO THE COAST...INDICATING A SUSTAINED SEVERE THREAT. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND 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. ...HART 393,0730 363,0755 363,0783 393,0755
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 1:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allegany, Garrett | 4 hr |
| Apr 28, 3:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and 3 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 28, 5:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Allegany, Garrett | 4 hr |
| Apr 28, 5:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Allegany, Garrett | 4 hr |
| Apr 28, 5:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Warren | 5 hr |
| Apr 28, 2:15 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | City of Bristol | 5 hr |
| Apr 28, 6:45 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | City of Danville | 3 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2002Tornado Watches in Maryland, 2002Tornado Watches in New Jersey, 2002Every tornado 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.