Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Baltimore/Washington

April 16, 1993Prince William County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 1993, 10:55 AM EDT for Prince William County, Virginia. It was in force for 35 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Apr 16, 1993, 10:55 AM EDT (14:55 UTC)
Expired: Apr 16, 1993, 11:30 AM EDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

County Prince William County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:59 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 28 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: 286 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 643 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 284 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 2.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KWBC 161456
TORWBC
VAC153-161530-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
1055 AM EDT FRI APR 16 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES A POSSIBLE TORNADO WEST
OF MANASSAS NEAR RTE 50. THE STORM IS MOVING RAPIDLY TO THE NORTH.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
 
MCNAUGHT

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, Apr 16, 9:46 AM EDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before

MDZ001>006-161700-

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
945 AM FRI APRIL 16 1993

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF MARYLAND...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF MARYLAND UNTIL
2PM THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON. LARGE HAIL DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE WATCH AREA.

THE WATCH COVERS ALL OF CENTRAL MARYLAND FROM A CARROLL HOWARD AND
MONTGOMERY COUNTY LINE EAST AND ALL OF THE EASTERN SHORE EXCEPT
WORCESTER AND SOMERSET COUNTIES. THE WATCH ALSO INCUDES BALTIMORE
CITY AND CHESAPEAKE BAY NORTH OF PATUXENT RIVER.

DAVIS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 16, 8:25 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Fauquier	65 min
Apr 16, 8:52 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Page, Rappahannock, Warren	4 hr
Apr 16, 8:52 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Clarke	4 hr
Apr 16, 9:29 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Stafford	31 min
Apr 16, 9:37 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Prince William	43 min
Apr 16, 9:43 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	City of Winchester	3 hr
Apr 16, 9:43 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Shenandoah	3 hr
Apr 16, 9:51 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Arlington, Fairfax	54 min
Apr 16, 10:34 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Fauquier	41 min
Apr 16, 10:45 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Prince William	45 min
Apr 16, 11:28 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Fairfax, Loudoun	2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 1993 Every tornado warning in 1993 Tornadoes in 1993

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.