Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Baltimore/Washington

June 6, 2002Culpeper County, Orange County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jun 6, 2002, 2:50 PM EDT for Culpeper County, Orange County, Virginia. It was in force for 40 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 6, 2002, 2:50 PM EDT (18:50 UTC)
Expired
Jun 6, 2002, 3:30 PM EDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Whole counties

Counties Culpeper County, VA, Orange County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:53 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 6, 2:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 82 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 202 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-06-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 43 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
202 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-169 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1312 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
43 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
84 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 061850
TORLWX
VAC047-137-061930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
250 PM EDT THU JUN 6 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 330 PM EDT

* AT 248 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER BURR HILL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   STEVENSBURG AT 252 PM
   LIGNUM AT 256 PM
   FLAT RUN AT 258 PM
   ELKWOOD AT 300 PM
   RICHARDSVILLE AT 304 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.

$$

DRM

LAT...LON 3843 7804 3829 7791 3837 7767 3852 7786

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 5, 8:08 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX67 min
Jun 5, 8:37 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX68 min
Jun 5, 8:37 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX68 min
Jun 6, 2:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXMadison40 min
Jun 6, 2:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCulpeper64 min
Jun 6, 2:56 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX49 min
Jun 6, 2:56 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX49 min
Jun 6, 2:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPrince William, Stafford47 min
Jun 6, 3:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFauquier39 min
Jun 6, 3:14 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX91 min
Jun 6, 3:16 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX29 min
Jun 6, 3:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFairfax53 min
Jun 6, 3:44 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX31 min
Jun 6, 4:01 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX89 min
Jun 6, 4:01 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX89 min
Jun 6, 4:01 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX89 min
Jun 6, 4:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXClarke40 min
Jun 6, 5:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXLoudoun41 min
Jun 6, 5:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAlbemarle, Greene, Madison, Orange39 min
Jun 6, 5:29 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX46 min
Jun 6, 5:29 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX46 min
Jun 6, 5:31 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXCulpeper, Fauquier44 min
Jun 6, 5:45 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXOrange45 min
Jun 6, 6:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXStafford48 min
Jun 6, 6:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPrince William43 min
Jun 6, 6:35 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX25 min
Jun 6, 6:46 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX59 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.