Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Baltimore/Washington

May 25, 2001Charles County, Prince George's County, Maryland

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at May 25, 2001, 3:26 PM EDT for Charles County, Prince George's County, Maryland. It was in force for 34 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 25, 2001, 3:26 PM EDT (19:26 UTC)
Expired: May 25, 2001, 4:00 PM EDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

Counties Charles County, MD, Prince George's County, MD

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:29 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
May 25, 3:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 53 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: 674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 161 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.

000 
WFUS51 KLWX 251926
TORLWX
MDC017-033-252000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
326 PM EDT FRI MAY 25 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY IN CENTRAL MARYLAND
  CHARLES COUNTY IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND

* UNTIL 400 PM EDT

* AT 320 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER INDIAN HEAD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  OVER FRIENDLY AT 352 PM
  3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF OXON HILL AT 356 PM
  OVER CAMP SPRINGS...2 MILES NORTHWEST OF CLINTON AT 400 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.

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.

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 25, 10:10 AM EDT, 5 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 25, 10:10 AM EDT, 5 hours 16 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1010 AM EDT FRI MAY 25 2001

ERLY MRNG FCST PCKG LUKS IN GUD SHAPE. SEEMS TO BE SOME SIMILARITY
BTWN THIS MRNGS WX MAP AND WHAT WE HAD THREE DAYS AGO...WHEN SVR
WX HIT A LARGE PART OF THE AREA TUE AFTN. LOW CONTS TO SPIN OVR THE
UPR MIDWEST WITH A FNTL BNDRY STRETCHING FM ERN OH DOWN TOWARDS THE
FL PANHANDLE AND LTNG OVR THE CAROLINAS. ONE DIFF ATTM IS A LTL MORE
CLD CVR EVIDENT ON STLT TO THE SW OF DC WHICH COULD HELP TO KEEP SFC
TEMPS DOWN..BUT LIKE THREE DAYS AGO THERE ARE GOOD UPR DYNAMICS.
WRDG OF PSBL SVR IN THE LATE AFTN WL RMN IN THE FCST. RMDR OF FCST
UNCHGD.

DCA   75  60  76  59 /  70  80  70  40
BWI   73  58  74  58 /  70  80  80  40
MRB   71  57  72  57 /  90  70  70  30
IAD   74  58  75  57 /  70  80  70  40
CHO   73  58  75  57 /  70  80  70  40
HGR   68  56  71  55 /  90  70  70  30
NHK   74  61  77  61 /  40  60  60  40

.LWX...NONE.

WOODY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 25, 11:34 AM EDT, 3 hours 52 minutes before

DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-
050>057-WVZ048>055-252130-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
1134 AM EDT FRI MAY 25 2001

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS OUTLOOKED MUCH OF VIRGINIA...
MARYLAND..THE EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA..AND WASHINGTON DC
WITH A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

MOIST...UNSTABLE AIR AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT WILL TRIGGER STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE AREA. THUNDERSTORMS WILL
DEVELOP OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND SPREAD EASTWARD LATE IN THE DAY. THE
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED CONTINUE AFTER SUNSET...ESPECIALLY IN THE
WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE METROPOLITAN AREA. STRONG WIND GUSTS...IN
EXCESS OF 60 MPH...WILL BE THE MAJOR THREAT.  HAIL GREATER THAN
THREE-QUARTERS OF AN INCH IN DIAMETER IS ALSO POSSIBLE.

THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN...RESULTING IN RAPID
RISES ON CREEKS AND SMALLER RIVERS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/ER/LWX

ABW

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 25, 2:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Charles	49 min
May 25, 3:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Prince George's	45 min
May 25, 3:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Charles	50 min
May 25, 4:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Prince George's	53 min
May 25, 4:24 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Prince George's	51 min
May 25, 4:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Charles, Saint Mary's	58 min
May 25, 4:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Anne Arundel	46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 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.