Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 8, NWS Wakefield, VA
NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Jul 12, 1987, 3:45 PM EDT for Essex County, Westmoreland County, Virginia. It was in force for 60 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 12, 1987, 3:45 PM EDT (19:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 12, 1987, 4:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wakefield, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Essex County, VA, Westmoreland 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
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 113 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
- 1116 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -97 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1025 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 13 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 7 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
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, Jul 12, 12:41 PM EDT, 3 hours 4 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 1240 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987 ...RAPIDLY DEVELOPING HEAVY THUNDERSTORM OVER HIGHLAND COUNTY... WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 1235 SHOWED A VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM... CONTINUING TO DEVELOP...OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN PORTION OF HIGHLAND COUNTY. THE STORM IS LOCATED NEAR BULLPASTURE MOUNTAIN...SOUTHWEST OF MC DOWELL VIRGINIA...AND IS DRIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 8 TO 10 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVY DOWNPOURS...DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS. THE STORM MAY ALSO PRODUCE HAIL. DURING THE NEXT HOUR THE STORM WILL BE MOVING INTO AUGUSTA COUNTY... WEST OF DEERFIELD. RESIDENTS OF SOUTHEAST HIGHLAND AND NORTHWEST AUGUSTA COUNTY SHOULD KEEP ALERT TO FAST CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND MOVE TO SUITABLE SHELTER AT THE APPROACH OF THE STORM. FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED. MG
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 2:11 PM EDT, 1 hour 34 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 210 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987 ...HEAVY THUNDERSTORM OVER EAST-CENTRAL BATH COUNTY... WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 205PM SHOWED A VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM... OVER THE EASTCENTRAL PORTION OF BATH COUNTY. THE STORM WAS LOCATED BETWEEN WARM SPRINGS AND MILLBORO SPRINGS...DRIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 5 TO 10 MPH. THE STORM WILL BE DRIFTING OVER MILLBORO AND ENTERING ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY...NORTHWEST OF LEXINGTON DURING THE NEXT HOUR. THIS STORM WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVY DOWNPOURS...DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS. THE STORM MAY ALSO PRODUCE HAIL. THE SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE STORM MAY CAUSE FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS. IRESIDENTS SHOULD KEEP ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND MOVE TO SUITABLE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED. MG
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 3:00 PM EDT, 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK VA 2.45 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987 THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO FORM OVER SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA AND NORTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA WITH LITTLE MOVEMENT. THE HEAVIEST STORMS ARE OVER CHESAPEAKE AT THIS TIME. THE CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT FOR THE STORMS TO DEVELOPE ANY TIME AND ANY PLACE AND PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS..HEAVY RAIN AND DAGEROUS LIGHTNING ALONG WITH POSSIBLE HAIL. THE PUBLIC SHOULD WATCH FOR CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS AND TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR THEIR SAFETY. ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED. CWT
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.