Alert archive / Virginia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003
Mesoscale Discussion 162
The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Feb 26, 2003, 6:06 PM EST for 5 states. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 26, 2003, 6:06 PM EST (23:06 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 26, 2003, 10:00 PM EST
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 82 counties
Clay County, KY, Laurel County, KY, Leslie County, KY, Letcher County, KY, Perry County, KY, Dorchester County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Caswell County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Durham County, NC, Granville County, NC, Orange County, NC, Person County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Vance County, NC, Warren County, NC, Johnson County, TN, Accomack County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Bedford County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Buckingham County, VA, Campbell County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Carroll County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Charlotte County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Galax, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Lynchburg, VA, City of Martinsville, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Norton, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dickenson County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Floyd County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Franklin County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland 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, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Patrick County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Russell County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Washington County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, Wise County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:07 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.
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 424 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 84 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 336 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 420 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
723 ACUS11 KWNS 262307 SWOMCD SPC MCD 262306 NCZ000-VAZ000-270300- MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0162 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0506 PM CST WED FEB 26 2003 AREAS AFFECTED...N-CENTRAL AND NWRN NC...SRN AND CENTRAL VA CONCERNING...PRECIPITATION TRENDS...WINTER PRECIPITATION VALID 262306Z - 270300Z FREEZING RAIN RATES OF 0.05-0.10/HR ARE EXPECTED THROUGH 27/03Z ACROSS NWRN AND N-CENTRAL NC AND FAR SRN VA. BETWEEN 03-06Z...FREEZING RAIN WILL TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THIS AREA. FURTHER NORTH ACROSS CENTRAL VA EWD TO THE DELMARVA PENINSULA...PERIODS OF LIGHT TO OCCASIONALLY MODERATE SNOW ARE EXPECTED THROUGH 06Z. SURFACE ANALYSIS AT 26/23Z INDICATES A COLD AIR DAMMING SETUP WITH A 1029MB HIGH OVER NRN NEW ENGLAND AND A SURFACE RIDGE EXTENDING SWD INTO THE PIEDMONT OF NC. A SHORTWAVE TROUGH EVIDENT IN WV IMAGERY MOVING EWD ACROSS THE CENTRAL APPALACHIAN MTNS AND BROAD 850-700MB WARM ADVECTION ACROSS THE SERN CONUS INTO THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION IS DRIVING THE BULK OF LARGE-SCALE PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE DISCUSSION AREA. BACK EDGE OF PRECIPITATION SHIELD ACROSS ERN TN IS MOVING EWD AT 35-40KT...AND SHOULD RESULT IN A TAPERING OFF OF FREEZING RAIN ACROSS NWRN NC...N-CENTRAL NC...AND FAR SRN VA LATE THIS EVENING FROM W-E. LOW-LEVEL/AGEOSTROPHIC NLY BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS SHOULD MAINTAIN SHALLOW SUBFREEZING LAYER ACROSS THIS REGION CONDUCIVE FOR FREEZING RAIN DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. FURTHER NORTH...SNOW IS LIKELY ACROSS CENTRAL VA ENEWD INTO THE DELMARVA...ALTHOUGH INTENSITIES SHOULD GENERALLY BE LIGHT TO MODERATE THROUGH 06Z GIVEN MODEST FORCING FOR ASCENT. ..BANACOS.. 02/26/2003 ...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT... 37727498 37807553 37647606 37137686 36757755 36377778 36067834 36117871 36387900 36217927 35847903 35617909 35527930 35637981 35798017 35738065 35598114 35538157 35638192 35858206 36218196 36668187 37048199 37268251 37328325 37268407 37208506 36157840 35817896 35617972 35898030 35638091 35558161 35848205 36318192 36788087 37697878 38107748 38497630 38557477 37947475 37707525 37107677 36517771 36147841
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26, 12:35 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette and 9 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 26, 5:22 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Crockett, Davidson and 28 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Mesoscale Discussions in Virginia, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Kentucky, 2003Every mesoscale discussion 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.