Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 476

June 18, 19974 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 18, 1997, 7:15 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jun 18, 1997, 7:15 PM EDT (23:15 UTC)
Expired: Jun 19, 1997, 12:00 AM EDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 46 counties

Kent County, DE, New Castle County, DE, Sussex County, DE, Anne Arundel County, MD, Calvert County, MD, Caroline County, MD, Cecil County, MD, Charles County, MD, City of Baltimore, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Harford County, MD, Kent County, MD, Prince George's County, MD, Queen Anne's County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Talbot County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Atlantic County, NJ, Camden County, NJ, Cape May County, NJ, Cumberland County, NJ, Gloucester County, NJ, Salem County, NJ, Accomack County, VA, Caroline County, VA, City of Alexandria, VA, City of Fredericksburg, VA, City of Richmond, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Essex County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Hanover County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King George County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Stafford County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA

The radar

The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:15 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.

Warnings issued inside it

9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 18, 7:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Anne Arundel	30 min
Jun 18, 7:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Charles	59 min
Jun 18, 7:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	King George	59 min
Jun 18, 7:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Queen Anne's, Talbot	45 min
Jun 18, 8:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Queen Anne's, Talbot	37 min
Jun 18, 8:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Calvert, Saint Mary's	45 min
Jun 18, 9:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Caroline	47 min
Jun 18, 10:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Sussex	48 min
Jun 18, 10:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Wicomico, Worcester	51 min

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 100 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: 392 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -95 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 671 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 156 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 219 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

549 
WWUS9 KMKC 182254
SEL6  
MKC WW 182254
VAZ000-MDZ000-DEZ000-NJZ000-190400-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 476
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
654 PM EDT WED JUN 18 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EASTERN VIRGINIA                           
   EASTERN AND SOUTHERN MARYLAND                           
   DELAWARE                           
   SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY                         
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 715 PM
UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES EAST OF RICHMOND VIRGINIA TO 30 MILES NORTH
NORTHWEST OF ATLANTIC CITY NEW JERSEY.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 469...WW 470...WW
471...WW 472...WW 473...WW 474...WW 475...

DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS
THE NORTHERN VIRGINIA/MARYLAND AREA AHEAD OF UPPER TROUGH MOVING
TOWARD THE MID ATLANTIC COAST.  STORMS ARE MOVING THROUGH A
MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIR MASS WITH LIFTED INDEX TO -6.  VAD WIND
PROFILES SHOW WINDS VEERING AND INCREASING WITH HEIGHT INDICATING
THREAT FOR SUPERCELLS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23030.


...WEISS

372,0782 395,0760 395,0732 373,0755

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 18, 2:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Allegany, Garrett	6 hr
Jun 18, 4:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Baltimore, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, City of Baltimore	6 hr
Jun 18, 5:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Washington	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Virginia, 1997 Tornado Watches in Maryland, 1997 Tornado Watches in New Jersey, 1997 Every tornado watch 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.