Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2004
Tornado Warning 6, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Sep 17, 2004, 11:32 AM EDT for Rockingham County, North Carolina; Henry County, City of Martinsville, Virginia. It was in force for 28 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 17, 2004, 11:32 AM EDT (15:32 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 17, 2004, 12:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 28 min
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Rockingham County, NC, City of Martinsville, VA, Henry County, VA
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:32 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 10:10 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 46 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
- 888 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 551 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 237 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 297 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.0
- Supercell composite
- 5.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WFUS51 KRNK 171532 TORRNK NCC157-VAC089-690-171600- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 1129 AM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... ROCKINGHAM COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA HENRY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA MARTINSVILLE IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA * UNTIL NOON EDT * AT 1125 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS WERE TRACKING A TORNADO ON THE GROUND NEAR MIDDLE SPRINGS ROAD AND ELLISBURG ROAD HEADING TOWARD HIGHWAY 220. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH. * LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... MAYODAN... STONEVILLE... PRICE... MARTINSVILLE AIRPORT... HORSE PASTURE... HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OBSCURE THIS TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW IF YOU WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE. 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. THIS WARNING REPLACES THE WARNING THAT WAS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1130 FOR WESTERN ROCKINGHAM AND EASTERN STOKES COUNTY. 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. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 500 PM EDT FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA. LAT...LON 3632 8002 3634 7984 3671 7974 3676 8001 $$ WERT
The office that day
Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 10:28 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Stokes | 32 min |
| Sep 17, 11:02 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Rockingham, Stokes | 28 min |
| Sep 17, 12:31 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Rockingham | 29 min |
| Sep 17, 2:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Caswell | 49 min |
| Sep 17, 2:29 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Caswell | 3 hr |
| Sep 17, 12:01 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Franklin, Henry, City of Martinsville | 29 min |
| Sep 17, 12:26 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Franklin | 34 min |
| Sep 17, 12:50 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem | 25 min |
| Sep 17, 12:56 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Halifax | 34 min |
| Sep 17, 1:01 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Bedford, Franklin | 29 min |
| Sep 17, 1:05 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Franklin | 25 min |
| Sep 17, 1:30 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Botetourt | 30 min |
| Sep 17, 1:44 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Appomattox, Campbell, Charlotte | 31 min |
| Sep 17, 2:15 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Appomattox | 30 min |
| Sep 17, 2:25 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Campbell, Pittsylvania | 35 min |
| Sep 17, 2:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Buckingham | 21 min |
| Sep 17, 3:37 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Amherst, Appomattox | 3 hr |
| Sep 17, 3:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Halifax | 37 min |
| Sep 17, 4:03 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Charlotte | 3 hr |
| Sep 17, 4:16 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Buckingham | 29 min |
| Sep 17, 4:33 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Buckingham | 12 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2004Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 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.