Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Wakefield, VA

September 6, 1996Amelia County, Dinwiddie County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Sep 6, 1996, 3:50 AM EDT for Amelia County, Dinwiddie County, Virginia. It was in force for 35 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Sep 6, 1996, 3:50 AM EDT (07:50 UTC)
Expired: Sep 6, 1996, 4:25 AM EDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Wakefield, VA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Amelia County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:51 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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 150 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: 24 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -124 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 809 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 99 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 178 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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.

NWS Wakefield, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Sep 6, 2:56 AM EDT, 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 6, 2:56 AM EDT, 54 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 5, 10:52 PM EDT, 4 hours 58 minutes before

MDZ501-NCZ012>017-030>032-102-504-VAZ048-049-060>063-065>075-
078>085-087>100-501-061500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
1051 PM EDT THU SEP 5 1996

...TORNADO WATCH #1004 IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM FRIDAY MORNING
FOR CENTRAL AND MUCH OF EASTERN VIRGINIA...AND NORTHEAST NORTH
CAROLINA.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECT
UNTIL 11 AM FRIDAY MORNING FOR CENTRAL AND MUCH OF EASTERN
VIRGINIA...NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA...THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE
CHESAPEAKE BAY...THE ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS FROM FENWICK ISLAND TO
CURRITUCK BEACH LIGHT...AND CURRITUCK SOUND.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN
AND NEARv THE WATCH AREA.  DAMAGING WINDS MAY ALSO OCCUR.  BE READY
TO ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO SHELTER BELOW GROUND OR TO A SMALL
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE IF A WARNING IS ISSUED
FOR YOUR AREA.

ALBRIGHT

Special weather statement, Sep 5, 10:56 PM EDT, 4 hours 54 minutes before

NCZ045>047-081-103-501>503-061500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOREHEAD CITY NC
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATEHR SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD VA
1054 PM EDT THU SEP 5 1996

...TORNADO WATCH #1004 IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM FRIDAY MORNING
FOR ALL OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA INCLUDING ALBEMARLE AND PAMLICO
SOUND AND THE ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS FROM CURRITUCK BEACH LIGHT
TO OCRACOKE INLET.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH EFFECT
UNTIL 11 AM FRIDAY MORNING FOR ALL OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
INCLUDING ALBEMARLE AND PAMLICO SOUND AND THE ATLANTIC
COASTAL WATERS FROM CURRITUCK BEACH LIGHT TO OCRACOKE INLET.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN
AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA.  DAMAGING WINDS MAY ALSO OCCUR.  BE READY
TO ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO SHELTER BELOW GROUND OR TO A SMALL
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE IF A WARNING IS ISSUED
FOR YOUR AREA.

ALBRIGHT

Special weather statement, Sep 6, 3:47 AM EDT, 3 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 6, 1:55 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Southampton	20 min
Sep 6, 2:51 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Dinwiddie, Nottoway	34 min
Sep 6, 5:40 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Henrico	20 min
Sep 5, 11:13 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Bertie, Northampton	47 min
Sep 6, 1:22 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Gates	33 min
Sep 6, 1:32 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Pasquotank	18 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 1996 Every tornado warning in 1996 Tornadoes in 1996

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.