Alert archive / West Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Charleston, WV

May 31, 2004Raleigh County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this tornado warning at May 31, 2004, 12:52 AM EDT for Raleigh County, West Virginia. It was in force for 53 min. 3 reports 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 31, 2004, 12:52 AM EDT (04:52 UTC)
Expired: May 31, 2004, 1:45 AM EDT
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Charleston, WV
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Raleigh County, WV

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 31, 1:25 AM EDT	HAIL 1	6 Sw Beckley, WV
May 31, 1:25 AM EDT	HAIL 1.25	6 Sw Beckley, WV
May 31, 1:40 AM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	6 Se Beckley, WV	SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN COOL RIDGE.

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

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 31, 12:40 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 153 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: 429 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -93 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 718 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 203 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 256 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

995 
WFUS51 KRLX 310452
TORRLX
WVC081-310545-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
1252 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  RALEIGH COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA...

* UNTIL 145 AM EDT...

* AT 1250 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A STORM
  CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES WEST OF RHODELL...OR ABOUT 4
  MILES NORTH OF MULLENS...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE BEAVER...COAL CITY...
  CRAB ORCHARD...DANIELS...MABSCOTT...MACARTHUR...SHADY SPRING AND
  SOPHIA.

--CALL TO ACTION--IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A
NEARBY REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A
CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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

LAT...LON 3772 8141 3779 8107 3781 8093 3777 8090
          3771 8089 3770 8097 3761 8109 3756 8130

$$

SEYMOUR

The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 30, 11:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Wyoming	23 min
May 30, 11:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Raleigh	48 min
May 30, 11:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Mingo	26 min
May 31, 12:00 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Wyoming	45 min
May 31, 12:11 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	RLX	Wyoming	34 min
May 31, 12:17 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Mingo	58 min
May 31, 12:40 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RLX	Mingo	3 hr
May 31, 12:49 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	McDowell, Wyoming	56 min
May 31, 1:44 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	RLX	Raleigh	31 min
May 31, 2:33 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Wayne	57 min
May 31, 2:51 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Cabell, Mason	54 min
May 31, 3:18 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Lincoln, Putnam	27 min
May 31, 3:31 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Boone, Kanawha, Logan, Mingo	59 min
May 31, 4:13 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Clay, Fayette, Nicholas, Raleigh, Wyoming	62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in West Virginia, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes 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.