Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 134, NWS Blacksburg, VA

July 9, 2003Bath County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 9, 2003, 2:05 PM EDT for Bath County, Virginia. It was in force for 40 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jul 9, 2003, 2:05 PM EDT (18:05 UTC)
Expired: Jul 9, 2003, 2:45 PM EDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Bath County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 125 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:05 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 9, 11:50 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 102 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: 1142 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 646 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 72 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 
WUUS51 KRNK 091805
SVRRNK
VAC017-091845-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
204 PM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  BATH COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 245 PM EDT.

* AT 200 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 13 MILES NORTH OF WARM SPRINGS TO
  29 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HOT SPRINGS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED THROUGH 245 PM EDT INCLUDE
  WARM SPRINGS...
  HOT SPRINGS...
  MILLBORO...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS UP TO 70 MILES
AN HOUR.

IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING HAIL...
DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY
HEAVY RAIN.

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

LAT...LON 3822 7971 3819 7950 3803 7963 3789 7980
          3789 7987 3796 7995 3797 8003 3809 7995
          3819 7992 3828 7980

$$

10

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 9, 1:44 PM EDT, 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 1:44 PM EDT, 21 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
950 AM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

UPDATED ZONES FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH INFORMATION.

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 600 PM EDT
VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059-WVZ042>045-092200-
WV...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 600 PM EDT
VAZ043>046-092200-

MG

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 9, 5:25 AM EDT, 8 hours 40 minutes before

NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059-
WVZ042>045-101100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
525 AM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA...
WESTERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...AS WELL AS NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

HOT AND HUMID WEATHER WILL DOMINATE AGAIN ACROSS THE REGION...
ESPECIALLY EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE
90S...AND HEAT INDICES AROUND 100.

WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON...AND AN
ISOLATED STORM COULD CONTAIN DAMAGING WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY MAY PRODUCE ISOLATED BURSTS OF
STRONG WIND AND RAIN...RESULTING IN WIND DAMAGE OR SMALL STREAM
FLOODING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

UNLESS THUNDERSTORMS BECOME WIDESPREAD...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT
ANTICIPATED.

08

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 9, 1:47 PM EDT, 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
147 PM EDT WED JUL 09 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0135 PM    SINKS GROVE               WV   80 MPH TSTM GUST
07/09/03   MONROE                         REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 9, 1:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Tazewell	44 min
Jul 9, 1:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bland, Giles	45 min
Jul 9, 1:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Alleghany, Craig, City of Covington	50 min
Jul 9, 2:11 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford	34 min
Jul 9, 2:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery, Pulaski, City of Radford	40 min
Jul 9, 2:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Wythe	68 min
Jul 9, 2:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Botetourt, Rockbridge, City of Covington, City of Lexington	51 min
Jul 9, 2:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem	48 min
Jul 9, 2:48 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Amherst, Bedford	42 min
Jul 9, 2:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Franklin	47 min
Jul 9, 3:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Rockbridge, City of Buena Vista, City of Lexington	17 min
Jul 9, 3:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Grayson	28 min
Jul 9, 3:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Appomattox, Campbell, City of Lynchburg	57 min
Jul 9, 3:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pittsylvania	39 min
Jul 9, 3:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Amherst, City of Lynchburg	33 min
Jul 9, 3:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Carroll, Patrick	44 min
Jul 9, 3:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Buckingham	58 min
Jul 9, 3:53 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pittsylvania	37 min
Jul 9, 3:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Amherst	17 min
Jul 9, 4:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Halifax	39 min
Jul 9, 4:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Charlotte	44 min
Jul 9, 4:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Halifax	20 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

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.