Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Baltimore/Washington

April 21, 2000Charles County, Maryland

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Apr 21, 2000, 2:33 PM EDT for Charles County, Maryland. It was in force for 27 min. 4 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: Apr 21, 2000, 2:33 PM EDT (18:33 UTC)
Expired: Apr 21, 2000, 3:00 PM EDT
In force: 27 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

County Charles County, MD

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:34 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
Apr 21, 2:55 PM EDT	Hail 1	White Plains, MD	Quarter sized hail fell.
Apr 21, 3:05 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Waldorf, MD	Home under construction was destroyed and 10 trees were downed.
Apr 21, 3:05 PM EDT	Hail 1	Waldorf, MD	Quarter sized hail fell.
Apr 21, 3:07 PM EDT	Hail 1	Waldorf, MD	Quarter sized hail fell.

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
Apr 21, 12:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 63 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 626 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 230 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 254 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: -0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

114 
WFUS51 KLWX 211834
TORWBC
MDC017-211900-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
233 PM EDT FRI APR 21 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CHARLES COUNTY IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND

* UNTIL 300 PM EDT

* AT 229 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER RISON...OR ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 
  INDIAN HEAD...  MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   RIPLEY AT 240 PM EDT
   GREEN MEADOWS AT 242 PM EDT
   BRYANS ROAD AT 244 PM EDT
   WHITE PLAINS AT 252 PM EDT
   ST. CHARLES AT 258 PM EDT

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.


THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. IF NO
BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE
BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE
BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 500 PM EDT FRIDAY
AFTERNOON FOR AND NORTHWESTERN MARYLAND AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA AND THE
PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA.

.END/ JM

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Apr 21, 10:40 AM EDT, 3 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 21, 10:40 AM EDT, 3 hours 53 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1040 AM EDT THU APR 20 2000

PREV FCST HAS GUD HANDLE ON AFTN WX SITN. MANY FAVORABLE FACTORS WL BE
PRESENT TO SUPPORT TSTMS AND PSBL SVR TSTMS.

A VORT MX ROTATING ARND OH VLLY CUTOFF LOW WL MOV OUT OF ERN TN
VLLY AND INTO THE WRN FA BY 18Z. CLRG HAS BN OCCURRING OVR WRN PTNS
OF FA THIS AM CONSISTENT W/DRY SLOT PROGGED BY LAST FEW MDL RUNS.
AT 300 MB...MLDS DID NOT CAPTURE PSN OF 95 KT JET. MDLS HAD JET
CNTRD TOO FAR W OF ITS ACTUAL 12Z PSN OVR GA. SO...FAIRLY STG JET WL BE
MOVG INTO FA THIS AFTN AND RGN WL BE UNDER LF QUAD.

AS UPR LOW HEADS EWD...ATMOS WL CONT TO DESTABILIZE. MODIFIED AM SDNG
GIVES LI OF -5 DEG C. IN ADDITION...SDNG HAD GUD VEERING IN LOW LVLS
AND SRH WAS 221 M/SEC2.

SFC DWPTS WERE IN 50S TO LOWER 60S THIS AM AND 850 MB PLOT SHOWED
PLENTY OF RH.

SFC LOW HAS FORMED NR CHO THIS AM. PRESENCE OF LOW MAY KEEP NRN FA
IN THE CLDS THIS AFTN WHICH WUD INHIBIT INSTAB SOMEWHAT. IN SRN FA
HOWEVER...LOW WL INCR UVV/S.

THINK BEST CHC FOR SVR WX WL BE IN SW ZONES DUE TO CLRG...SFC LOW
AND PROXIMITY OF UPR DYNAMICS. HOWEVER...EXPECT ENTR FA TO HV
TSTMS THIS AF]TN.

LOW WL BE STACKED OVHD TONIGHT AND LINGER ON SAT WHICH WL PROLONG
THE PCPN.

.LWX...SCA MD PTN CHES BAY AND POTOMAC.

ARTHUR

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 21, 2:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Charles, Prince George's	50 min
Apr 21, 3:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Anne Arundel, Prince George's	57 min
Apr 21, 3:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Charles	57 min
Apr 21, 4:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Howard, Montgomery	59 min
Apr 21, 4:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Prince George's	36 min
Apr 21, 5:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Anne Arundel, Baltimore, City of Baltimore	55 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 2000 Every tornado warning in 2000 Tornadoes 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.