Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 9, NWS Wakefield, VA
NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Jul 26, 1987, 4:34 PM EDT for Louisa County, Virginia. It was in force for 26 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 26, 1987, 4:34 PM EDT (20:34 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 26, 1987, 5:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 26 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wakefield, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Louisa 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, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 119 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
- 1029 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -74 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1443 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 27 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 67 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 KRIC 262034 TORRIC VAC109-262100- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 434 PM EDT SUN JUL 26 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF VIRGINIA...LOUISA A TORNADO WAS REPORTED NEAR MINERAL. TORNADO WAS MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. 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 REINFORCED BUILDINGS. PLEASE REPORT ALL SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NEAREST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. LINTON
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 26, 2:27 PM EDT, 2 hours 7 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 230 PM EDT SUN JUL 26 1987 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT FOR THE NORTH HALF OF VIRGINIA... AT 225 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM THAT EXTENDED ALONG A LINE THAT EXTENDED FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN THROUGH ATLANTIC CITY NEW JERSEY...THE EASTERN MARYLAND- PENNSYLVANIA BORDER...THE EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE...AND THEN ON INTO OHIO. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS IN THIS LINE WERE VERY STRONG. THE LINE WAS MOVING SLOWLY SOUTHEAST. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THESE STORMS TO CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN AS THEY MOVE THROUGH VIRGINIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. JL
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 3:33 PM EDT, 1 hour 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 335 PM EDT SUN JUL 26 1987 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT FOR THE NORTH HALF OF VIRGINIA... AT 330 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT EXTENDED ALONG A LINE FROM SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY THROUGH EXTREME NORTHERN VIRGINIA AND THEN ON INTO WEST VIRGINIA. SOME OF THE STORMS IN THIS LINE WERE VERY STRONG. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. RADAR ALSO SHOWED THAT SOME THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY FORMING AHEAD OF THIS LINE. ONE SUCH STORM WAS IN ORANGE COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS ALSO MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST AND WILL AFFECT PARTS OF SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY AND LOUISA COUNTY DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. YOU SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY TO THE WEST AND NORTH AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE INDOORS IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. WHILE INDOORS YOU SHOULD KEEP AWAY FROM THE FIREPLACE...HEATING DUCTS... RADINATORS...AND PLUMBING. PLEASE REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. JL
The office that day
Everything else NWS Wakefield, VA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 4:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Caroline | 22 min |
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.