Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Baltimore/Washington

June 4, 2002Albemarle County, Augusta County, Rockingham County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jun 4, 2002, 6:01 PM EDT for Albemarle County, Augusta County, Rockingham County, Virginia. It was in force for 29 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: Jun 4, 2002, 6:01 PM EDT (22:01 UTC)
Expired: Jun 4, 2002, 6:30 PM EDT
In force: 29 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

Counties Albemarle County, VA, Augusta County, VA, Rockingham County, VA

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 4, 5:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 128 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: 503 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -98 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 867 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 91 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

704 
WFUS51 KLWX 042201
TORLWX
VAC003-015-165-042230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
601 PM EDT TUE JUN 4 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ALBEMARLE COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  AUGUSTA COUNTY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA
  ROCKINGHAM COUNTY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT

* AT 558 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER GROTTOES...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   FREE UNION AT 630 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.

$$

LAT...LON 3834 7882 3818 7893 3802 7864 3822 7850

HTS

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 Jun 4, 3:00 PM EDT, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 4, 3:00 PM EDT, 3 hours 1 minute before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
300 PM EDT TUE JUN 4 2002

MDLS IMPLY A VERY STRIKING DEMARKATION FOR LATE AFTN INSTABILITY -
W/ THE XTMR NWRN CORNER OF THE CWA HAVING CAPES OF ALMOST 3000 INVOF
WARM FNT WHILE ALONG THE BAY CAPES ARE ZERO. SPC HAS BEEN OUTLOOKING
ERN PANHANDLE WV/FAR WRN MD IN SLT CHC..AND WL GO W/ A LKLY POP
THROUGH MDNGT THERE.

THINK WED CONTS TO HV THE BEST CHC OF SVR WX AREAWIDE. WRM FNT
PUSHES TO THE N ALLOWING DAYTIME TO APRCH 90 AND AFTRN CAPES REACH
OR EXCEED 2000 J/KG. FOR TIME BEING WL CONT WRDG OF CHC AFTN TRW -
MAY NEED TO UPGRADE TO LKLY ON OVRNGT FCST.

ETA HAS COME IN LN W/ YDAS AVN OF SLOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE CD
FNT - ESSENTIALLY STOPPING IT OVR SRN VA...AND THEN FORMING A WV ON
IT THU EVENG. WL KEEP WRDG OF CHC RW/TRW THROUGH THU NGT. AVN SHOWS
HIGH FINALLY BLDG BACK IN FOR FRI WHICH SHOULD MAKE FOR A PLEASANT
FIRST PART OF THE WKND. AFTR THAT RETURN FLOW DVLPS/INCRSG RH AS
HIGH MOVES OFF CST. WL MAINTAIN CHC OF TRW MON AFTN...AND ADD THE
CHC ON TUE AHEAD OF NEXT CD FNT.

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

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 4, 5:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Rockingham, City of Harrisonburg	37 min
Jun 4, 5:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Albemarle, Augusta	48 min
Jun 4, 6:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Frederick, Shenandoah	37 min
Jun 4, 6:31 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Albemarle, City of Charlottesville	44 min
Jun 4, 7:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Frederick, Shenandoah, Warren, City of Winchester	44 min
Jun 4, 7:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Albemarle, City of Charlottesville	44 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes in 2002

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.