Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2016
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 139
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 2, 2016, 5:38 PM EDT for 4 counties in North Carolina; 47 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 2, 2016, 5:38 PM EDT (21:38 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 2016, 10:55 PM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 51 counties
Bertie County, NC, Gates County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Amelia County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Louisa County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:40 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 SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 10%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 2%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 6:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Charles City, Gloucester, James City, King and Queen, New Kent, Prince George and 4 more | 52 min |
| May 2, 6:58 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Prince George, Surry | 47 min |
| May 2, 6:58 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Gloucester, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northumberland | 47 min |
| May 2, 7:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Charles City, James City, Surry, York, City of Williamsburg | 52 min |
| May 2, 7:55 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Cumberland, Fluvanna, Goochland, Hanover, Louisa, Powhatan | 50 min |
| May 2, 8:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Mathews | 34 min |
| May 2, 8:14 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | City of Chesapeake, City of Norfolk, City of Portsmouth, City of Suffolk, City of Virginia Beach | 24 min |
| May 2, 8:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Isle of Wight, James City, York, City of Hampton, City of Newport News, City of Poquoson | 23 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 175 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
- 215 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -41 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 706 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 115 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 115 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and 1 more | 8 hr |
| May 2, 6:34 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Charles | 56 min |
| May 2, 1:34 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke and 14 more | 116 min |
| May 2, 2:43 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bertie, Chatham, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe and 23 more | 62 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Virginia, 2016Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Carolina, 2016Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2016
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.