Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Baltimore/Washington

August 4, 1992Prince George's County, Maryland

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Aug 4, 1992, 2:55 PM EDT for Prince George's County, Maryland. It was in force for 35 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 4, 1992, 2:55 PM EDT (18:55 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 1992, 3:30 PM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

County Prince George's County, MD

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 4, 3:10 PM EDTTornado F1Prince George'S, MD
Aug 4, 3:15 PM EDTTornado F0Prince George'S, MD

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 50 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 1992-08-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 46 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 1992-08-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
46 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1229 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 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 041856
TORWBC
MDC033-041930-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
255 PM EDT TUE AUG 4 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL MARYLAND
 
   ...SOUTHERN PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY
 
DOPPLER RADAR AT STERLING INDICATE A POSSIBLE TORNADO APPROACHING
SOUTHERN PRINCE GEORGES 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...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

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

Local storm report, Aug 4, 12:17 PM EDT, 2 hours 38 minutes before
WBCLSRBWI
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE, MD
STORM REPORT
1220PM EDT TUE AUG 4 1992

ADDITIONAL REPORTS FROM STORM DAMAGE OF JULY 31 1992

DATE/TIME          LOCATION/EVENT

31/2115UTC         HOWARD COUNTY-WEST FRIENDSHIP,ELLICOTT CITY...
                   LARGE TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN, AN INCH AND A
                   QUARTER OF RAIN IN 30 MINUTES.

31/2255UTC         TALBOT COUNTY/NORTHEAST SECTION...LARGE TREES DOWN,
                   A COUPLE OF HOUSES STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

DAVIS

                                                       H

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 3, 8:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXWashington58 min
Aug 3, 9:25 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXFrederick65 min
Aug 3, 9:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFrederick65 min
Aug 3, 10:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFrederick46 min
Aug 3, 11:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCarroll69 min
Aug 4, 2:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPrince George's40 min
Aug 4, 3:22 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXCalvert38 min
Aug 4, 3:23 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXAnne Arundel67 min
Aug 4, 3:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXQueen Anne's, Talbot31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 1992Every tornado warning in 1992Tornadoes in 1992

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.