Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 340
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 10, 2003, 3:15 PM EDT for 17 counties in North Carolina; 24 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 10, 2003, 3:15 PM EDT (19:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 10, 2003, 9:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 41 counties
Alamance County, NC, Caswell County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Granville County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Orange County, NC, Person County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Stokes County, NC, Vance County, NC, Warren County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Bedford County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Campbell County, VA, Charlotte County, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Martinsville, VA, City of Roanoke, VA, City of Salem, VA, Craig County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Floyd County, VA, Franklin County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Halifax County, VA, Henry County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Montgomery County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Patrick County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Roanoke County, VA
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:15 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
18 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 4:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Pittsylvania | 44 min |
| May 10, 4:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Charlotte, Halifax | 37 min |
| May 10, 4:12 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Halifax | 33 min |
| May 10, 4:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Halifax | 48 min |
| May 10, 4:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Granville, Vance | 40 min |
| May 10, 5:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Bedford | 49 min |
| May 10, 5:29 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Vance | 46 min |
| May 10, 5:43 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Campbell, City of Lynchburg | 32 min |
| May 10, 5:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Warren | 56 min |
| May 10, 6:06 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Halifax | 39 min |
| May 10, 6:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Mecklenburg | 40 min |
| May 10, 6:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Granville, Vance | 29 min |
| May 10, 6:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Halifax, Nash | 53 min |
| May 10, 6:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Person | 30 min |
| May 10, 6:58 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Vance | 32 min |
| May 10, 7:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Halifax | 67 min |
| May 10, 7:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Granville | 43 min |
| May 10, 7:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Warren | 36 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 49 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
- 1311 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 674 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 58 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 91 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 115 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 2.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 101912
SEL0
SPC WW 101915
NCZ000-VAZ000-110100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 340
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
315 PM EDT SAT MAY 10 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHERN NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 315 PM UNTIL
900 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 50 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ROANOKE VIRGINIA TO 45
MILES NORTHEAST OF ROCKY MOUNT NORTH CAROLINA.
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 336...WW 337...WW 338...WW
339...
DISCUSSION...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORMING OVER THE MOUNTAINS
OF SOUTHWEST VA...AND MAY DEVELOP OVER NORTH CENTRAL NC SOON. VERY
MOIST/UNSTABLE AIRMASS...STRONG WINDS ALOFT...AND ENHANCED SHEAR
NEAR SURFACE BOUNDARY MAY PROMOTE THE THREAT OF SUPERCELLS.
ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY OCCUR WITH STORMS NEAR THE BOUNDARY.
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 26030.
...HART
373,0802 370,0771 353,0771 361,0802SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 9:45 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Greene, Jones, Lenoir and 3 more | 60 min |
| May 10, 12:41 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Rockingham, Stokes and 4 more | 2 hr |
| May 10, 2:31 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Caswell, Chowan, Durham and 19 more | 89 min |
| May 10, 4:46 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Caswell, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville and 11 more | 89 min |
| May 10, 7:10 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare and 20 more | 6 hr |
| May 9, 8:57 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alleghany, Bath, Botetourt, Craig, Rockbridge, City of Buena Vista and 2 more | 63 min |
| May 10, 4:33 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alleghany, Bath, Frederick, Highland, Rockingham, Shenandoah and 3 more | 87 min |
| May 10, 1:20 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Giles, Grayson and 13 more | 6 hr |
| May 10, 3:27 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Giles, Grayson and 13 more | 93 min |
| May 10, 6:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Giles | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2003Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2003Every tornado watch 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.