Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Morristown, TN

February 29, 20124 counties in Virginia

NWS Morristown, TN issued this tornado warning at Feb 29, 2012, 6:00 PM EST for 4 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 30 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: Feb 29, 2012, 6:00 PM EST (23:00 UTC)
Expired: Feb 29, 2012, 6:30 PM EST
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Morristown, TN
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties City of Norton, VA, Russell County, VA, Scott County, VA, Wise County, VA

The radar

The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:02 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
Feb 29, 6:10 PM EST	TSTM WND DMG	3 Se Wise, VA	SEVERAL TREES DOWN.
Feb 29, 6:10 PM EST	HAIL 1.75	3 Se Wise, VA
Feb 29, 6:11 PM EST	FUNNEL CLOUD	2 Wsw Coeburn, VA	PUBLIC REPORTED A WALL CLOUD ALONG WITH A SMALL FUNNEL NEAR LONESOME PINE RACEWAY.

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
Feb 29, 12:31 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 230 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 903 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 165 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 231 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

356 
WFUS54 KMRX 292300
TORMRX
VAC167-169-195-720-292330-
/O.NEW.KMRX.TO.W.0004.120229T2300Z-120229T2330Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE-TRI CITIES TN
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
600 PM EST WED FEB 29 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KNOXVILLE-TRI CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CITY OF NORTON IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
  RUSSELL COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
  NORTH CENTRAL SCOTT COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
  SOUTHEASTERN WISE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 630 PM EST

* AT 556 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR NORTON...
  MOVING EAST AT 60 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
  CLEVELAND AND LEBANON.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

GO TO A SAFE PLACE NOW! TORNADOES IN HILLY OR MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN ARE
HARD TO SEE. DO NOT WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO.

IF YOU SEE WIND DAMAGE...LARGE HAIL OR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...WAIT
UNTIL AFTER THE STORM HAS PASSED...AND THEN CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1 8 6 6 7 6 3 4 4 6 6.

&&

LAT...LON 3697 8176 3693 8182 3680 8263 3701 8266
      3704 8248 3703 8248 3703 8245 3697 8235
      3701 8228 3700 8224 3705 8217 3706 8204
      3713 8201 3715 8191
TIME...MOT...LOC 2300Z 261DEG 50KT 3692 8248

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Morristown, TN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 29, 5:48 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Russell, Scott, Wise, City of Norton	42 min
Feb 29, 6:29 PM EST	Tornado Warning	MRX	Russell, Washington	31 min
Feb 29, 6:52 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Russell, Wise	38 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2012 Every tornado warning in 2012 Tornadoes in 2012

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.