Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Baltimore/Washington

July 18, 1997Calvert County, Prince George's County, Maryland

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jul 18, 1997, 8:35 PM EDT for Calvert County, Prince George's County, Maryland. 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
Jul 18, 1997, 8:35 PM EDT (00:35 UTC)
Expired
Jul 18, 1997, 9:10 PM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

Counties Calvert County, MD, Prince George's County, MD

The nearest sounding before it

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 140 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 00:00Z on 1997-07-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2691 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 00:00Z on 1997-07-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 71 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2691 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1477 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
71 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KWBC 190035 RRA
TORWBC
MDC009-033-037-MDZ502-190110-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STERLING VA
835 PM EDT FRI JUL 18 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 910 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN CENTRAL MARYLAND

   ...SOUTHERN PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY

IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND

   ...NORTHERN ST MARYS COUNTY
   ...SOUTHERN CALVERT COUNTY
 
AT 834 PM EDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY STERLING
DOPPLER RADAR 6 MILES NORTH OF GOLDEN BEACH MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25
MPH.

THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITIES GOLDEN
BEACH... BARSTOW... BOWENS AND PRINCE FREDERICK.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME
OR BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID
WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 18, 8:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCharles, Prince George's29 min
Jul 18, 8:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCalvert, Charles50 min
Jul 18, 8:35 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXSaint Mary's35 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997

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.