Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Baltimore/Washington

October 5, 1995Prince George's County, Maryland

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Oct 5, 1995, 8:52 PM EDT for Prince George's County, Maryland. It was in force for 38 min. 1 report 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
Oct 5, 1995, 8:52 PM EDT (00:52 UTC)
Expired
Oct 5, 1995, 9:30 PM EDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

County Prince George's County, MD

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:54 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 5, 8:59 PM EDTTornado F2Temple Hills, MDThe strongest tornado, containing estimated winds of 150 mph, caused substantial damage, and several injuries, at a Temple Hills neighborhood. Three persons sustained minor injuries requiring a short hospital stay; 17 others reported cuts and abrasions. In a

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 00:00Z, 0.9 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 00:00Z on 1995-10-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 937 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1995-10-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 293 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
937 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
608 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
293 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
415 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
8.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KWBC 060053
TORWBC
MDC033-060130-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
852 PM EDT THU OCT 5 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  930 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL MARYLAND
 
   ...PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY
 
AND ADJACENT WATERS OF THE TIDAL POTOMAC RIVER
 
 
DOPPLER RADAR AT STERLING INDICATED A TORNADO IN PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY.
THIS TORNADO WAS NEAR CLINTON AND WILL MOVE RAPDILY NORTHEAST NEAR 50
MPH. THE STORM WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE TOWARD BOWIE.
 
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO.  CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 5, 8:30 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXCharles15 min
Oct 5, 9:27 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXAnne Arundel33 min
Oct 5, 10:09 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXBaltimore, Harford36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.