Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 88, NWS Baltimore/Washington

May 19, 20004 counties in Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 19, 2000, 2:22 PM EDT for 4 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 38 min. 5 reports 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: May 19, 2000, 2:22 PM EDT (18:22 UTC)
Expired: May 19, 2000, 3:00 PM EDT
In force: 38 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

Counties Albemarle County, VA, Augusta County, VA, Greene County, VA, Rockingham County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:24 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 19, 2:34 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Boonesville, VA	The tornado began just north of Loft Mountain, downed trees and moved into Greene County.
May 19, 2:35 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Grottoes, VA	Trees wered downed on the Rockingham County side of Skyline Drive east of Grottoes.
May 19, 2:40 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Dyke, VA	The tornado crossed into Greene County west of Dyke and dissipated just east of Amicus, downing several trees and power lines in its path.
May 19, 2:40 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	South Portion, VA	Trees were downed mainly south of the tornado's path.
May 19, 2:59 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Farmington, VA	Trees were downed onto Old Ivy Road.

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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 19, 2:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 134 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: 43 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -202 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1181 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 136 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 19, 9:15 AM EDT, 5 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 9:15 AM EDT, 5 hours 7 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
915 AM EDT FRI MAY 19 2000

LN OF SHRA/TSRA STRETCHING FM SRN PA ACRS WVA ATTM. WNDSHFT TO N HAS
PROGRESSED SWD ACRS NRN VA...BUT VWP/SNDG INDCTS ONLY 1-2K FT IN
DEPTH. COOLER...DRIER AIR STL IN PA...AND BLV THAT/S WHR TRUE FRONT
STILL IS. WVA ACTVTY ASSOC W/ S/WV...WHICH WL CRS FA MIDDAY. H8 35
KT JET WL ENTER WRN FA TAFTN...AND H25 JET STILL BACK A LTL FRTHR W.
GVN GOOD INSTAB /LI -4 TO -6 AND B+ 2000-3000 AT 12Z/ AND FOCUSSING
MECHANISM...FORSEE A BUMPY DAY AHD. QSTN WL BE SVR THREAT.
PERSISTENT SHRA ACRS NRN MD MAY KEEP ATMOS MARGINALLY STBL TDA.
HWVR...VORT IN SRN MD TAFTN...AND JET IN SW FA INVOF CHO WL MEAN
THREAT HGTND IN THOSE TWO AREAS...ESP SINCE BOTH AREAS HV AT LST
PRTL SUN ATTM...AND ARE ON EDGE OF BAROCLINIC ZN.

THUS...WL RAISE POPS EVRYWHR TDA...AND WL BEEF UP SVR WRDG ACRS THE
S. WL MAKE OTR LESSER TWEAKS FOR 1ST PD. MAY MAKE APPRO ADJUSTMENTS
2ND-3RD PDS AS WELL.

.LWX...NONE.

HTS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 19, 2:40 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Greene	35 min
May 19, 2:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Albemarle, Orange	33 min
May 19, 3:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Albemarle, City of Charlottesville	44 min
May 19, 3:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Augusta, Nelson, City of Waynesboro	44 min
May 19, 3:36 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Spotsylvania	24 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2000 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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.