Alert archive / West Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

May 21, 2004Marshall County, West Virginia

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 2004, 5:24 AM EDT for Marshall County, West Virginia. It was in force for 66 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 21, 2004, 5:24 AM EDT (09:24 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 2004, 6:30 AM EDT
In force: 66 min
Issued by: NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Marshall County, WV

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:25 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 21, 5:30 AM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	8 Sse Wheeling, WV	LARGE TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN MOZARK...MARSHALL COUNTY WV

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

Did it verify

Verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow matched one storm report to this severe thunderstorm warning; the first came 6 minutes after it went out.

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 nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 74 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: 1205 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1103 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 163 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 267 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 7.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS51 KPBZ 210924
SVRPBZ
WVC051-211030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
524 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MARSHALL COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 630 AM EDT

* AT 520 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE
  HAIL...AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH.  THESE STORMS WERE
  LOCATED 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF DALLAS...AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35
  MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  ROCKLICK...
  CAMERON...
  DENVER HEIGHTS...

<<CALL TO ACTION>>SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58
MILES AN HOUR AND LARGE HAIL GREATER THAN THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH.

PLEASE REPORT HAIL...STRONG WINDS OR WIND DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE...1-877-633-6772...WHEN YOU CAN
DO SO SAFELY.

LAT...LON 4002 8053 3972 8053 3972 8060 3974 8061
      3980 8063 3987 8067 3989 8067 3994 8069
      3996 8069 4003 8073

$$

15

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 Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 21, 2:50 AM EDT, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 2:50 AM EDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
250 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004

ISOLATED AREA OF +RA FELL OVRNGT OVR THE EXTREME NERN ZONES OF THE
CWA.  OTHERWISE SHRA/TSRA CONT TO DEVELOP OVR OH AND OFF LAKE ERIE
WITH APPRCH OF MCS.  MRNG POP NMBRS HAVE BEEN BUMPED TO LIKELY WITH
MENTION OF +RA INCLUDED OVR NRN AND WRN ZONES.

POSITION OF WEAK FRONT OVR NRN CWA ALNG WITH OUTFLOW BNDRIES FM THIS
ACTIVITY WL DETERMINE TSRA FOCUS...SO HAVE NOT PLAYED WITH CHC/SCT
NMBRS MUCH PAST TDA.  MINOR ADJUSTMENTS ONLY TO TEMPS.

&&
.PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PA...NONE.
OH...NONE.
WV...NONE.
MD...NONE.
&&

15

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 20, 11:48 PM EDT, 5 hours 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
1148 PM EDT THU MAY 20 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1130 PM     FLASH FLOOD      7 NE BROOKVILLE         41.23N 78.99W
05/20/2004                   JEFFERSON          PA   EMERGENCY MNGR

            ALLENS MILLS ROAD FLOODED.

1132 PM     FLASH FLOOD      5 N BROOKVILLE          41.23N 79.08W
05/20/2004                   JEFFERSON          PA   EMERGENCY MNGR

            RICHARDSVILLE ROAD FLOODED.

&&

Special weather statement, May 21, 3:34 AM EDT, 1 hour 50 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
334 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004

MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-
029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-211100-
ALLEGHENY PA-ARMSTRONG PA-BEAVER PA-BELMONT OH-BROOKE WV-BUTLER PA-
CARROLL OH-CLARION PA-COLUMBIANA OH-COSHOCTON OH-FAYETTE PA-
FOREST PA-GARRETT MD-GREENE PA-GUERNSEY OH-HANCOCK WV-HARRISON OH-
INDIANA PA-JEFFERSON PA-JEFFERSON OH-LAWRENCE PA-MARION WV-
MARSHALL WV-MERCER PA-MONONGALIA WV-MONROE OH-MUSKINGUM OH-NOBLE OH-
OHIO WV-PRESTON WV-TUCKER WV-TUSCARAWAS OH-VENANGO PA-WASHINGTON PA-
WESTMORELAND PA-WETZEL WV-
334 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004

...LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING IN FROM THE NORTHWEST...

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHING FROM ERIE PENNSYLVANIA TO COLUMBUS
OHIO IS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 25 MPH. SOME OF THE STORMS IN THIS
LINE MAY CONTAIN HEAVY RAIN...HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS.

THE STORMS WILL BE REACHING THE CITIES OF CLARION AND NEW CASTLE IN
PENNSYLVANIA AND SALEM AND NEW PHILADELPHIA IN OHIO BY 345 AM.

IF YOU ARE TRAVELING STAY ALERT FOR FLOODING AND PONDING OF WATER.
DO NOT DRIVE IN FLOODED AREAS.  HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES SHOULD ALSO
KEEP ALERT FOR GUSTY CROSS WINDS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 4:41 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Hancock	64 min
May 21, 5:00 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Brooke	75 min
May 21, 5:03 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Ohio	57 min
May 21, 5:42 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Wetzel	63 min
May 21, 5:57 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Marion, Monongalia	78 min
May 21, 6:29 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Preston	76 min
May 21, 6:54 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Tucker	81 min
May 21, 8:45 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Marshall, Wetzel	45 min
May 21, 5:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Hancock	67 min
May 21, 5:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Brooke, Ohio	55 min
May 21, 6:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Marshall	67 min
May 21, 6:48 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Wetzel	57 min
May 21, 7:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PBZ	Preston	59 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in West Virginia, 2004 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.