Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Baltimore/Washington

October 18, 1990Fairfax County, Fauquier County, Prince William County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Oct 18, 1990, 1:55 PM EDT for Fairfax County, Fauquier County, Prince William County, Virginia. It was in force for 40 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 18, 1990, 1:55 PM EDT (17:55 UTC)
Expired
Oct 18, 1990, 2:35 PM EDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

Counties Fairfax County, VA, Fauquier County, VA, Prince William 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, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 24 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1990-10-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 8 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 1990-10-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 231 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
8 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-299 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
702 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
231 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
203 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 181755
TORWBC
VAC061-153-059-181900-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
155 PM EDT THU OCT 18 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  300 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...EAST CENTRAL FAUQUIER COUNTY...CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PRINCE WILLI
COUNTY...WESTERN FAIRFAX COUNTY...
 
POLICE IN REMINGTON/FAUQUIER COUNTY VA REPORTED A THAT A TORNADO
CAUSED DAMAGE IN DOWNTOWN REMINGTON AROUND 140 PM. WEATHER RADAR
INDICATES THAT THE STORM ASSOCIATED WITH THIS REPORT IS MOVING
NORTHEAST BETWEEN 30 TO 40 MPH AND WILL BE MOVING INTO CENTRAL
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES. THE STORM MAY
MOVE INTO SOUTHWESTERN FAIRFAX COUNTY BETWEEN 2 AND 215 PM.
 
STATE POLICE/CULPEPER REPORT BUILDING DAMAGE IN REMINGTON FROM THIS
STORM.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.
 
ADS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 18, 2:56 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXCulpeper, Madison3 hr
Oct 18, 2:56 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXFauquier3 hr
Oct 18, 3:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXArlington, Fairfax, Prince William58 min

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.