Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Baltimore/Washington

June 15, 2000City of Fairfax, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jun 15, 2000, 7:22 PM EDT for City of Fairfax, Virginia. It was in force for 23 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jun 15, 2000, 7:22 PM EDT (23:22 UTC)
Expired: Jun 15, 2000, 7:45 PM EDT
In force: 23 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County City of Fairfax, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 5 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:25 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
Jun 15, 7:30 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Countywide, VA	Several trees were downed.

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
Jun 15, 2:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 3 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: 59 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -184 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 598 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 103 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.

565 
WFUS51 KLWX 152323
TORWBC
VAC059-107-600-610-152345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
722 PM EDT THU JUN 15 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CITY OF FAIRFAX IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
  CITY OF FALLS CHURCH IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
  FAIRFAX COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
  LOUDOUN COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 745 PM EDT

* AT 720 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER ARCOLA...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  OVER ARCOLA AT 728 PM
  6 MILES NORTH OF CENTREVILLE AT 730 PM
  4 MILES NORTH OF CHANTILLY AT 736 PM
  OVER HERNDON AT 740 PM
  OVER RESTON...4 MILES WEST OF WOLF TRAP AT 746 PM

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. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. 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.

LAT...LON 3902 7761 3884 7760 3882 7718 3905 7719

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 15, 2:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Frederick	44 min
Jun 15, 4:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Clarke, Loudoun	46 min
Jun 15, 5:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Loudoun	48 min
Jun 15, 5:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Frederick, City of Winchester	44 min
Jun 15, 5:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Shenandoah	44 min
Jun 15, 6:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Clarke, Fauquier, Loudoun	41 min
Jun 15, 6:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Frederick, City of Winchester	41 min
Jun 15, 6:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Warren	41 min
Jun 15, 6:42 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Clarke, Fauquier, Loudoun	33 min
Jun 15, 7:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Fairfax, Loudoun, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church	50 min
Jun 15, 7:22 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Loudoun	23 min
Jun 15, 7:22 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Fairfax, City of Falls Church	23 min
Jun 15, 7:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Arlington	41 min
Jun 15, 7:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	City of Alexandria	41 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.