Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Baltimore/Washington

May 19, 2000Greene County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at May 19, 2000, 2:40 PM EDT for Greene County, Virginia. It was in force for 35 min. 2 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, 2:40 PM EDT (18:40 UTC)
Expired: May 19, 2000, 3:15 PM EDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

County Greene County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:40 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, 2:40 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.

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 nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 118 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: 86 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -250 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1351 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 157 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 159 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.

530 
WFUS51 KLWX 191841
TORWBC
VAC079-191915-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
240 PM EDT FRI MAY 19 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  GREENE COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 315 PM EDT

* AT 234 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  POSSIBLE TORNADO 2 MILES WEST SHADY GROVE...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   DAWSONVILLE AT 254 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.

DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A
TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STRUCTURE
IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

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 700 PM EDT FRIDAY
EVENING FOR WESTERN VIRGINIA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALSO
REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT FRIDAY EVENING FOR WESTERN
VIRGINIA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL
800 PM EDT FRIDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHERN MARYLAND AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA.

.END/SMZ/BMW

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 May 19, 9:15 AM EDT, 5 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 9:15 AM EDT, 5 hours 25 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, 2:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Albemarle, Augusta, Greene, Rockingham	38 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

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 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.