Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Baltimore/Washington

May 27, 2001Clarke County, Warren County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at May 27, 2001, 1:31 PM EDT for Clarke County, Warren County, Virginia. It was in force for 29 min. 1 report 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 27, 2001, 1:31 PM EDT (17:31 UTC)
Expired: May 27, 2001, 2:00 PM EDT
In force: 29 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

Counties Clarke County, VA, Warren County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:33 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 27, 1:33 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Millwood, VA	A tornado that came from Warren County downed trees across Route 624 (Millville Rd).

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, 5.5 hours before the alert went out and 61 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: 49 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -99 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 728 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 58 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 74 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 271731
TORLWX
VAC043-187-271800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
131 PM EDT SUN MAY 27 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CLARKE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA
  WARREN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 200 PM EDT

* AT 129 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 11 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BERRYVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BERRYVILLE AT 142 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 SHELMTER 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 27, 10:00 AM EDT, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 27, 10:00 AM EDT, 3 hours 31 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1000 AM EDT SUN MAY 27 2001

A LINE OF SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STRONG SHORTWAVE IS CURRENTLY
SWING THROUGH WV. AS IT MOVES IN TO VA AND MD IT WILL ENCOUNTER
INCREASING UNSTABLE CONDITIONS. (SEE SWODY1) HAVE ISSUED SWO FOR
THIS AFTERNOON. WILL UPDATED FIRST PD FOR STRONGER WORDING FOR
TSTMS. WILL ALSO ADD SOME POPS IN TONIGHT FOR THE NE ZONES.

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

ND

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 27, 9:55 AM EDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before

DCZ001-MDZ003>007-009>011-013-014-VAZ042-053-054-WVZ051>053-272300-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
955 AM EDT SUN MAY 27 2001

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

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA...MARYLAND EAST OF WASHINGTON COUNTY TO THE CHESAPEAKE
BAY...THE EXTREME NORTHEAST SECTION OF VIRGINIA...AND MORGAN
...BERKELEY...AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES IN THE EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA
PANHANDLE.

THE LARGE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WHICH HAS BEEN STATIONARY OVER
SOUTHERN MICHIGAN FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS WILL SLOWLY DRIFT TOWARD
OUR REGION LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. AS THE LOW MOVES CLOSER A STRONG
DISTURBANCE WILL ROTATE AROUND THE LOW AND WILL PROVIDE THE FOCUS
FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS REGION.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP TODAY IN THE MOUNTAINS...AND SPREAD
EASTWARD THIS AFTERNOON. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE
EVENING HOURS...ESPECIALLY IN THE WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE
METROPOLITAN AREA. STRONG WIND GUSTS...IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND HAIL
GREATER THAN THREE-QUARTERS OF AN INCH IN DIAMETER WILL BE THE MAJOR
THREATS FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

THESE STORMS WILL ALSO 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

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 26, 8:13 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Frederick, City of Winchester	2 hr
May 26, 8:26 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Shenandoah	2 hr
May 26, 8:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Clarke	32 min
May 26, 10:19 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	LWX	Frederick	3 hr
May 27, 1:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Clarke, Frederick	40 min
May 27, 1:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Shenandoah, Warren	40 min
May 27, 1:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	City of Winchester	40 min
May 27, 1:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Clarke, Fauquier, Loudoun	40 min
May 27, 2:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Fairfax, Loudoun	50 min
May 27, 2:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Prince William, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park	40 min
May 27, 2:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Fauquier	40 min

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.