Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1990
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Wakefield, VA
NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 1990, 4:22 PM EDT for Surry County, Virginia. It was in force for 68 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 16, 1990, 4:22 PM EDT (20:22 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 16, 1990, 5:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 68 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wakefield, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Surry 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, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 159 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
- 1794 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -8 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 610 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 15 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 6 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 51 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 162023
TORORF
VAC181-162130-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK VA
422 PM EDT THU AUG 16 1990
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY
IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA
NORTHERN SURRY COUNTY
A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC IN NORTHERN SURRY
COUNTY MOVING TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST.
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.
IF NO BUILDING IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW PLACE.
PLEASE REPORT ALL SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIALS AND ASK THEM TO PASS THE REPORT ALONG TO A WEATHER
SERVICE OFFICE.
YANKESWhat 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, Aug 16, 1:16 PM EDT, 3 hours 6 minutes before
VAZ018 SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 110 PM EDT MON AUG 16 1990 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH BUCKINGHAM COUNTY... A STRONG SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY DOWNPOURS IS CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL BUCKINGHAM COUNTY. THIS STORM IS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT AROUND 10 MPH. BECAUSE OF THE SLOW MOVEMENT OF THIS STORM FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW LYING AREAS WILL OCCUR. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR STANDING WATER ON ROADWAYS. DAL
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 2:59 PM EDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before
VAZ001>004-162000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK VA 3:00 PM EDT THU AUG 16 1990 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTH EASTERN VIRGINIA UNTIL 9PM EDT... AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDS FROM THE OCEAN WESTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN NORTHAMPTON COUNTY OF THE EASTERN SHORE ACROSS THE LOWER BAY AND THROUGH CENTRAL NORTHERN NECK. THIS AREA IS NEARLY STATIONARY. ANOTHER AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN PIEDMONT OF VIRGINIA SEEMS TO BE MOVING SLOWLY TOWARD THE EAST. THE GREATER HAMPTON ROADS CITIES ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS WATCH AREA AT THIS TIME. ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS CONDITIONSK WARRANT WHILE THE WATCH IS IN EFFECT. CWT
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 3:30 PM EDT, 52 minutes before
VAZ001>004-162030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK VA 3:30 PM EDT THU AUG 16 1990 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTH EASTERN VIRGINIA UNTIL 9 PM EDT... THUNDERSTORMS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOPE OVER SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND THE EVER DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE NEAR GLOUCESTER OF THE NORTHERN NECK AND JUST NORTHWEST OF NEWPORT NEWS AND ANOTHER NEAR IVOR IN NORTHERN SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. MOVEMENT HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED ON THESE STORMS. PERSONS IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED AREA SHOULD WATCH FOR THE APPROACH OF THREATENING WEATHER AND TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS sFOR THEIR SAFETY. ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS CONDITIONS WARRANT. CWT
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 4:05 PM EDT, 17 minutes before
VAZ006-007-162200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA 400 PM EDT THU AUG 16 1990 A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT FOR SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA... AT 355 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED AN AREA OF SHOWERS WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHCENTRAL VIRGINIA. THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER THE VIRGINIA COUNTIES OF LUNENBURG...NOTTOWAY AND BRUNSWICK. THE SHOWERS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST ABOUT 15 MPH. HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL CAUSE BRIEF FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW AREAS AS THE STORMS MOVE THROUGH. STORMS IN OR CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES THIS AFTERNOON EVENING. GCW
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes in 1990
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.