Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Baltimore/Washington

September 24, 2001Culpeper County, Fauquier County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Sep 24, 2001, 3:08 PM EDT for Culpeper County, Fauquier County, Virginia. It was in force for 37 min. No storm report in the archive falls 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.

The facts

Issued: Sep 24, 2001, 3:08 PM EDT (19:08 UTC)
Expired: Sep 24, 2001, 3:45 PM EDT
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Culpeper County, VA, Fauquier County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:06 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Sep 24, 1:30 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 56 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: 674 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -56 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 583 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 96 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 64 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

518 
WFUS51 KLWX 241910
TORLWX
VAC047-061-241945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
308 PM EDT MON SEP 24 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CULPEPER COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
  CENTRAL FAUQUIER COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 345 PM EDT

* AT 306 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A TORNADO OVER NORTHERN       
  CULPEPER COUNTY ABOUT12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WARRENTON...MOVING      
  NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...NEARING WARRENTON AT 338 PM

A TORNADO WAST REPORTED AT 242 PM NEAR THE MADIAON-CULPEPER COUNTY
LINE. 

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. 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 3858 7809 3845 7793 3869 7764 3890 7780
$$
JLW/SMZ

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 24, 2:36 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Culpeper	34 min
Sep 24, 3:45 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Fauquier	30 min
Sep 24, 4:00 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Fauquier, Loudoun	45 min
Sep 24, 4:09 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Prince William, Stafford	36 min
Sep 24, 4:53 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Arlington, Fairfax, City of Alexandria	37 min
Sep 24, 4:53 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	City of Falls Church	37 min
Sep 24, 6:15 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Fauquier, Loudoun	2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2001 Every tornado warning in 2001 Tornadoes in 2001

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.