Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Baltimore/Washington

July 12, 1990Fauquier County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jul 12, 1990, 5:02 PM EDT for Fauquier County, Virginia. It was in force for 28 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jul 12, 1990, 5:02 PM EDT (21:02 UTC)
Expired: Jul 12, 1990, 5:30 PM EDT
In force: 28 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

County Fauquier 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, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 42 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 69 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -180 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 596 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 127 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 150 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KWBC 122101
TORWBC
VAC061-122130-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
502 PM EDT THU JUL 12 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...NORTHERN FAUQUIER COUNTY
 
AT 458 PM A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY A STORM SPOTTER 2 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF DELAPLANE IN NORTHERN FAUQUIER COUNTY.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...XPILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
JLW

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, 5:00 PM EDT, 2 minutes before

MDZ001>007-122100

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
500 PM EDT THU JUL 12 1990

 ...ALL OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN MARYLAND UNDER A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
    WATCH UNTIL 10 PM EDT THIS EVENING...

WEATHER RADAR AT 4.45PM WAS INDICATING HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER PORTIONS
OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 35 MPH.
THE MOST INTENSE STORMS ARE PRESENTING IN LOUDOUN AND PRINCE WILLIAM
COUNTIES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA. QUARTER SIZE HAIL HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH
THIS ACTIVITY.

THESE STORMS WILL BE CROSSING THE POTOMAC ENTERING SOUTH CENTRAL MARYLAND
WITHIN THE HOUR. OTHER STORMS NOT AS STRONG ARE DEVELOPING OVER CENTRAL
AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA AND IN MONTGOMERY AND FREDERICK COUNTIES.

THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER..AND THE PUBLIC IS URGED
TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS AND TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY IF THREATHENING CONDITIONS APPROACH AND REPORST ANY SEVERE
WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.

FIGUEROA

The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 12, 4:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William	66 min
Jul 12, 5:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Fairfax, Loudoun	40 min
Jul 12, 5:54 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Arlington, Fairfax, City of Alexandria	66 min
Jul 12, 5:54 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	City of Falls Church	66 min
Jul 12, 5:54 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	City of Fairfax	66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 1990 Every tornado warning in 1990 Tornadoes 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.