Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Baltimore/Washington

June 6, 2002Washington County, Maryland; Jefferson County, West Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jun 6, 2002, 4:41 PM EDT for Washington County, Maryland; Jefferson County, West Virginia. It was in force for 49 min. 2 reports 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: Jun 6, 2002, 4:41 PM EDT (20:41 UTC)
Expired: Jun 6, 2002, 5:30 PM EDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

Counties Washington County, MD, Jefferson County, WV

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:41 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
Jun 6, 5:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Countywide, WV	Power lines were downed.
Jun 6, 5:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Charles Town, WV	Trees were downed.

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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jun 6, 2:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 68 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: 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 062041
TORLWX
MDC043-WVC037-062130-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MARYLAND
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN THE PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 530 PM EDT

* AT 436 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER SHEPHERDSTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   BOONSBORO AT 458 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 3948 7785 3931 7792 3933 7767 3957 7762

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 6, 4:25 PM EDT, 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 6, 4:25 PM EDT, 16 minutes before

IN SHORT TERM MUCH WX GOING ON...FLD WTCH TIL MIDNIGHT...SVR TSTM
WTCH TIL 8 PM. AFTR FNT MOVES SWD XPCT TRW TO DIMINISH TO
RW...TAPERING OFF FRI MRNG AS CD FNT FINALLY SLIDES S/HI PRES BLDS
INTO THE AREA.

WOODY

LONG TERM...
PLENTY OF SUN...COOL NGTS...AND NR OR SLIGHTLY BLO NORMAL TEMPS THIS
WEEKEND...AS SFC RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE MID ATLANTIC.

MED RANGE MDLS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH MUCH OF THE XTND. MUCH
QUIETER WX TO PREVAIL THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO THE ERLY PART OF
THE WORK WEEK...WITH HIGH PRES ANCHORED OVER VA.

ECMWF AND MRF BOTH MOVE THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROF INTO NRN PLAINS BY
MID WEEK AND EVENTUALLY TOWARD THE HUDSON BAY BY THE END OF THE
WEEK. A WEAK CDFNT TRAILS DOWN FROM THE UPR LOW INTO THE OH VLY BY
WED NGT.

ECMWF AND MRF DO SHOW SOME TIMING DIFFERENCES WITH THE CDFNT. PLAN
ON LEANING TOWARD A SLOWER SOLN...AS RIDGING OVER THE ERN US WL BE
SLOW TO GIVE WAY. ONLY CHGS TO XTND ATTM WL BE SOME SLGT TEMP
ADJUSTMENTS WED TO ACCOUNT FOR A SLOWER CDFNT PASSAGE. HV ALSO
INCLUDED POPS FOR THU/THU NGT WITH THE CDFNT PASSAGE. OTRW...NO
OTHER CHGS TO XTND.

MANNING

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 6, 11:30 AM EDT, 5 hours 11 minutes before

DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-
050>057-WVZ048>055-070330-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1130 AM EDT THU JUN 6 2002

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY...

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY FOR THE MID
ATLANTIC REGION. THIS INCLUDES MARYLAND...EASTERN WEST
VIRGINIA...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...AND NORTHERN...CENTRAL...AND
NORTHWEST VIRGINIA.

SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...
HAIL...TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. THE MOST LIKELY
TIME FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE BETWEEN 3 AND 10 PM.

SKYWARN ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WATCHES
AND WARNINGS.

MANNING

Special weather statement, Jun 6, 3:54 PM EDT, 47 minutes before

DCZ001-VAZ054-062015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
354 PM EDT THU JUN 6 2002

...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT SOUTHEAST PORTIONS OF
THE WASHINGTON D.C. METRO AREA...

AT 349 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF STRONG TO SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH THROUGH SOUTHERN
FAIRFAX...NORTHERN CHARLES AND SOUTHERN PRINCE GEORGES COUNTIES.
THESE STORMS WILL AFFECT THE SOUTHEAST PORTION OF THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA AND PRODUCE SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAIN AND
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING THROUGH 415 PM.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT
THIS EVENING FOR THE ENTIRE AREA.

JA/DM

Local storm report, Jun 6, 4:07 PM EDT, 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
407 PM EDT THU JUN 6 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0245 PM    RICHARDSVILLE             VA   1.00 INCH HAIL
06/06/02   CULPEPER                       REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

0330 PM    POHICK BAY                VA   1.00 INCH HAIL
06/06/02   FAIRFAX                        BY SPOTTERS

0315 PM    NORTH STAFFORD COUNTY     VA   1.75 INCH HAIL
06/06/02   STAFFORD                       BY SPOTTERS

0315 PM    SOUTHERN PRINCE WILLIAM   VA   1.75 INCH HAIL
06/06/02   PRINCE WILLIAM                 BY SPOTTERS

0325 PM    COUNTYWIDE (NORTH & SOUTH)VA   WIND DAMAGE
06/06/02   FAUQUIER                       DOWN TREESREPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

MHP

Local storm report, Jun 6, 4:24 PM EDT, 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
424 PM EDT THU JUN 6 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0410 PM    BRANDYWINE                MD   1.75 INCH HAIL
06/06/02   PRINCE GEORGES                 BY SPOTTERS

MHP

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 5, 8:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Prince George's	40 min
Jun 5, 8:43 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Anne Arundel, Calvert	62 min
Jun 6, 2:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Anne Arundel	38 min
Jun 6, 3:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Charles, Prince George's	53 min
Jun 6, 3:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Anne Arundel, Howard, Prince George's	46 min
Jun 6, 4:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, Saint Mary's	78 min
Jun 6, 4:32 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Calvert	28 min
Jun 6, 4:50 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Frederick	40 min
Jun 6, 5:23 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Carroll	37 min
Jun 6, 5:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Montgomery	51 min
Jun 6, 5:50 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Baltimore, City of Baltimore	40 min
Jun 6, 6:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Howard	38 min
Jun 6, 6:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LWX	Charles	43 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 2002 Tornado Warnings in West 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.