Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Blacksburg, VA

September 8, 2004Pittsylvania County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Sep 8, 2004, 1:41 PM EDT for Pittsylvania County, Virginia. It was in force for 34 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
Sep 8, 2004, 1:41 PM EDT (17:41 UTC)
Expired
Sep 8, 2004, 2:15 PM EDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pittsylvania County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:41 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Sep 8, 6:50 AM EDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr
Sep 8, 12:50 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 36 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-09-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 171 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-09-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 233 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
171 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
539 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
233 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
346 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KRNK 081741
TORRNK
VAC143-081815-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
141 PM EDT WED SEP 8 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 215 PM EDT

* AT 140 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF CHALK LEVEL...OR ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MT AIRY...
  MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...

  MT AIRY...
  STRAIGHTSTONE...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

PLEASE 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 3688 7937 3685 7916 3703 7913 3705 7927

$$

JH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 8, 11:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKFranklin60 min
Sep 8, 12:52 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKBedford3 hr
Sep 8, 1:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKHalifax56 min
Sep 8, 2:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKCampbell45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.