Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 32, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 3, 2003Wilkes County, North Carolina

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 2003, 4:54 PM EDT for Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was in force for 36 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: May 3, 2003, 4:54 PM EDT (20:54 UTC)
Expired: May 3, 2003, 5:30 PM EDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Wilkes County, NC

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:56 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
May 3, 3:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 111 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: 3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -94 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1075 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

480 
WUUS51 KRNK 032054
SVRRNK
NCC193-032130-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
454 PM EDT SAT MAY 3 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN WILKES COUNTY IN NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 530 PM EDT.

* AT 453 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR WILKESBORO...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS THREATENED THROUGH 530 PM EDT INCLUDE
  NORTH WILKESBORO...
  RONDA...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING UP TO NICKEL SIZE
HAIL.

<<CALL TO ACTION>>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 3632 8127 3604 8128 3606 8091 3634 8091

$$

03

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 May 3, 3:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 3, 3:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
325 PM EDT SAT MAY 3 2003

SERIES OF WK SHRT WV TROFS FCST TO MOV EWD THRU RNK CWA NXT SVRL
DAYS WITH BRF PDS OF CLRG BTWN EACH SYS. 1ST SYS CURR MOVG INTO
MID ATL RGN RESULTING IN SCT TSTMS...SOME OF WHICH ARE BCMG
MARGINALLY SVR. SPC ABT TO ISSUE WATCH INTO ERY EVNG TO ACCOUNT FOR
SCTD SVR THREAT TIL LOSS OF INSOLATION AND PASSAGE OF WV ALLOWS PCPN
TO GRDLY END FM W TO E ACRS RGN.  BRF BREAK IN WX EXPECTED ON
SUN...BUT WITH PERSISTENT NELY-ELY UPSLOPE SFC WNDS...TEMPS NOT LKLY
TO CLIMB OUT OF 60S MOST AREAS.

NXT SYSTMS TO ARRIVE LTE SUN NGT INTO LTE TUE AS STG MIDWEST SYS
LIFTS NEWD INTO UPR GRT LKS. PERSISTENT ELY-SELY UPSLOPE FLOW...
LMTD INSOLATION...AND GOOD THREAT OF RN SHD ASSURE LMTD DIURNAL
TEMP SWING.

SOME CLRG EXPECTED ON BACKSIDE OF 2ND SYS TUE NGT INTO ERY WED BEF
3RD SYS ARRIVES WED AFTN. ANOTHER ROUND OF RW-/TRW- EXPECTED WITH
THIS SYS TIL PASSAGE OF CDFNT AND INCRG SUBSIDENCE ARRIVES THU
NGT...TO BE FLWD BY RELATIVELY BENIGN WX W/MODERATING TEMPS FOR
RMNDR OF FCST PD.

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

WERT

Hazardous weather outlook, May 3, 6:35 AM EDT, 10 hours 19 minutes before

NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059-
WVZ042>045-031330-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
635 AM EDT SAT MAY 3 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TODAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.

SPN

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 3, 3:21 PM EDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
321 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

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

0318 PM    MOUNT AIRY                NC   0.75 IN HAIL
05/03/03   SURRY                          REPORTED BY THE POLICE
                                          DEPARTMENT.

Local storm report, May 3, 3:35 PM EDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
335 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

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

0332 PM    MOUNT AIRY                NC   1.00 IN HAIL
05/03/03   SURRY                          HAIL UP TO 1 INCH
                                          COVERING THE GROUND.

Local storm report, May 3, 4:07 PM EDT, 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
407 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

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

0330 PM    BOONVILLE                 NC   1.75 IN HAIL
05/03/03   YADKIN                         HAIL COVERED DECK.
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 3, 3:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Yadkin	45 min
May 3, 3:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Surry	25 min
May 3, 3:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Ashe	23 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 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.