Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Wakefield, VA

March 27, 1994Lunenburg County, Nottoway County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Mar 27, 1994, 8:55 PM EST for Lunenburg County, Nottoway County, Virginia. It was in force for 35 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 27, 1994, 8:55 PM EST (01:55 UTC)
Expired
Mar 27, 1994, 9:30 PM EST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Wakefield, VA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Lunenburg County, VA, Nottoway County, VA

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 190 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1994-03-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 289 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1994-03-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 615 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
289 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-48 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
754 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
71 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
615 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
772 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KRIC 280200
TORRIC
VAC111-135-280230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA
855 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RICHMOND HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  930 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA
 
   ...LUNENBURG COUNTY...SOUTHERN NOTTOWAY COUNTY
 
AT 8:55 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATE A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN CENTRAL
LUNENBURG COUNTY. THE STORN WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH WHICH WILL
BRING IT INTO SOUTHERN NOTTOWAY COUNTY OVER THE NEXT 15 TO 20 MINUTES.
THIS STORM WAS NEAR THE TOWN OF LUNENBURG MOVING TOWARD KENBRIDGE.
 
 
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 INTOh A DITCH OR CULVERT.

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, Mar 27, 7:27 PM EST, 1 hour 28 minutes before
VAZ091-093>095-280100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK VA
725 PM EST SUN MAR 28 1994

WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATES AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM OVER
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY. THIS STORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

HEAVY RAIN SMALL HAIL STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND THE ALWAYS DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING CAN BE EXPECTED AS THESE STORMS PASS THRU THE AREA.

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.

COOK
Special weather statement, Mar 27, 8:23 PM EST, 32 minutes before
VAZ047>049-060>073-079>083-280300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RICHMOND VA
825 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

AT 820 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SHOWERS AND A FEW
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ADVANCING ACROSS CENTRAL VIRGINIA. THE STRONGEST
STORM WAS LOCATED IN CENTRAL PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY. OTHER STORMS WERE
LOCATED IN SOUTHERN CUMBERLAND AND NORTHWESTERN LUNENBURG COUNTIES.

THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS AS WELL
AS SOME SMALL HAIL. FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO
OCCUR.

MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS WAS NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH WHICH WILL BRING THEM
INTO WESTERN POWHATAN AND AMELIA COUNTIES OVER THE NEXT 15 TO 30
MINUTES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL TV AND RADIO FOR FURTHER
UPDATES. BP

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wakefield, VA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 27, 8:33 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQAmelia, Nottoway27 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994

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.