Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 7, NWS Wakefield, VA
NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Jun 23, 1987, 5:53 PM EDT for Sussex County, Virginia. It was in force for 67 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jun 23, 1987, 5:53 PM EDT (21:53 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 23, 1987, 7:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 67 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wakefield, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Sussex County, VA
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 199 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
- 477 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -83 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 957 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 58 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 91 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KORF 232153 TORORF VAC183-232300- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK VA 553 PM EDT TUE JUN 23 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF VIRGINIA...SOUTHERN SUSSEX A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY STATE POLICE NORTH OF EMPORIA MOVING NORTHEAST. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO..GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER OR A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR REENFORCED BUILDINGS. PLEASE REPORT ALL SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS AND ASK THEM TO PASS THE REPORT ALONG TO A WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. THMAS
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jun 23, 3:19 PM EDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 320 PM EDT TUE JUN 23 1987 SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FORMING OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA... AT 315 PM EDT SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WERE BUILDING OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND OVER THE SOUTHEAST PIEDMONT/ THE SHOWERS WERE SCATTERED FROM SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY SOUTH TO DINWIDDIE COUNTY AND WEST FROM THE CITY OF RICHMOND THROUGH BUCKINGHAM COUNTY. THE HEAVIEST OF THESE WAS OVER THE CITY OF RICHMOND AND OVE THE SOUTH EAST PART OF AMELIA COUNTY. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT AROUND 30 MPH. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE AFTER NOON AND MAY HAVE BRIEFLY HEAVY RAIN...GUSWTY SURFACE WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. < THE SITUATION WILL BE WATCHED CLOSELY AND FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED. MCS
Special weather statement, Jun 23, 4:11 PM EDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 405 PM EDT TUE JUN 23 1987 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA... AT 405 PM EDT WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND OVER THE SOUTHEAST PIEDMONT. THE HEAVIEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER THE COUNTIES OF LUNENBURG ...MECKLENBURG...BRUNSWICK...DINWIDDIE...POWHATAN...AMELIA...AND CHESTERFIELD. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT AROUND 25 TO 30 MPH...AND MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS...STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND SMALL HAIL. PERSONS IN THE VICINITY OF THESE STORMS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF THESE STORMS APPROACH. > REMEMBER THAT THESE STORMS ARE MOVING RAPIDLY AND YOUR RESPONSE TIME WILL BE REDUCED. THE SITUATION WILL BE WATCHED CLOSELY AND FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED. MATT
Special weather statement, Jun 23, 4:27 PM EDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK VA 4.30 PM EDT TUE JUN 23 1987 AT 4.15 PM RADAR SHOWS DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS OVER INTERIOR SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA NORTHWEST OF EMPORIA IN NORTHERN GREENSVILLE AND WESTERN SUSSEX COUNTIES. MOVEMENT IS TOWARD THE EAST NORTHEAST AROUND 20 MILES AN HOUR. AS THESE STORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOPE AND MOVE EASTWARD THE STRONGER STORMS COULD PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS HEAVY RAIN AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED ON THESE STORMS AS CONDITIONS WARRANT. CWT
Special weather statement, Jun 23, 5:12 PM EDT, 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 510 PM EDT TUE JUN 23 1987 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA... AT 510 PM EDT WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA. THE HEAVIEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER THE COUNTIES OF MECKLENBURG...BRUNSWICK...DINWIDDIE...POWHATAN...AMELIA... CHESTERFIELD...HANOVER AND EASTERN PRINCE EDWARD. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT AROUND 25 TO 30 MPH...AND MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS...STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND SMALL HAIL. PERSONS IN THE VICINITY OF THESE STORMS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF THESE STORMS APPROACH. > REMEMBER THAT THESE STORMS ARE MOVING RAPIDLY AND YOUR RESPONSE TIME WILL BE REDUCED. THE SITUATION WILL BE WATCHED CLOSELY AND FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED. MATT
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes in 1987
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.