Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Baltimore/Washington
NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jul 12, 1987, 4:15 PM EDT for Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Virginia. It was in force for 60 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 12, 1987, 4:15 PM EDT (20:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 12, 1987, 5:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Baltimore/Washington
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Fairfax County, VA, Loudoun 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, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 5 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
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KWBC 122015 TORWBC VAC059-107-122115- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC 415 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 515 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF VIRGINIA...WESTERN FAIRFAX AND SOUTHERN LOUDOUN A TORNADO HAS CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE AT ARCOLA IN LOUDON COUNTY. THE STORM ON RADAR IS MOVING SLOWLY SOUTHWARD. 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 ENFO RCEMENT OFFICIALS AND ASK THEM TO PASS THE REPORT ALONG TO A WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. KERCHER
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, 1:15 PM EDT, 3 hours before
-WBCSPSBWI
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
110 PM SUN JULY 12 1987
...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY...
AS TEMPERATURES APPROACH 90 DEGREES AROUND THE REGION THUNDERSTORMS
HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING RAPIDLY.
AT 1 PM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS DETECTING A VERY HEAVY
THUNDERSTORM OVER THE EASTERN SHORE...ABOUT 5 MILES NE OF CAMBRIDGE.
THIS STORM WAS MOVING SLOWLY TOWARD THE SSW AND WILL LIKELY PRODUCE
VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG ITS PATH. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE NOTED IN
CENTRAL MARYLAND AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA.
THE FREQUENCY OF THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON
IN THE MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS WHICH IS OVER US. THERE WILL BE THE
POTENTIAL FOR VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS IN THESE SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS
WHICH WILL PRODUCE LOCAL FLOODING. ALL THUNDERSTORMS ARE POTENTIALLY
DANGEROUS...BE ON THE LOOKOUT THIS AFTERNOON. END/RNN
% [Special weather statement, Jul 12, 3:09 PM EDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
-WBCSPSBWI
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
3PM SUN JULY 12 1987
...HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE REGION...
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS BUILDING RAPIDY OVER THE AREA WITH THE
AREAL COVERAGE INCREASING. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE OVER THE ENTIRE
MID ATLANTIC REGION.
MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS HAS BEEEN VERY SLOW...THEREFORE HEAVY CONTINUOUS
DOWNPOURS CAN BE EXPECTD WHICH WILL PRODUCE FLOODING...ESPECIALLY IN
THE AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING SUCH AS LOW LYING AREAS...UNDERPASSES...
AND AREAS WITH A HISTORY OF POOR DRAINAGE.
IN ADDITION...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...HAIL...AND GUSTY WINDS CAN BE
EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. PEOPLE ENGAGED IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
SHOULD BE ALERT TO THESE STORMS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK COVER.
[Special weather statement, Jul 12, 4:13 PM EDT, 2 minutes before
-WBCSPSBWI NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT 410 PM SUN JULY 12 1987 ...SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING... AT 4 PM A BAND OF HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FRON NORTHERN DELAWARE SOUTHWEST THROUGH NORTHEAST MARYLAND INTO NORTHERN VIRGINIA. ELSEWHERE THERE WERE HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL DELAWARE...AT THE MARYLAND LINE AND THE LOWER EASTERN SHORE. THE HEAVIEST STORMS WERE INDICATED OVER SOUTHERN HOWARD COUNTY... NORTHERN BALTIMORE COUNTY AND HARFORD AND CECIL COUNTIES. THE STORMS HAVE BEEN MOVING VERY SLOWLY WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS BEING REPORTED...THEREFORE SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN. END/RN
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.