Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Baltimore/Washington

June 6, 2002Baltimore County, City of Baltimore, Maryland

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jun 6, 2002, 5:50 PM EDT for Baltimore County, City of Baltimore, Maryland. 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, 5:50 PM EDT (21:50 UTC)
Expired: Jun 6, 2002, 6:30 PM EDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area: Whole counties

Counties Baltimore County, MD, City of Baltimore, MD

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:52 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
Jun 6, 2:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 46 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: 326 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -110 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1175 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 89 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KLWX 062150
TORLWX
MDC005-510-062230-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BALTIMORE COUNTY IN NORTHERN MARYLAND
  BALTIMORE CITY IN NORTHERN MARYLAND

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT

* AT 547 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER LOCHEARN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   BALTIMORE AT 552 PM
   PIKESVILLE AT 556 PM
   TOWSON AT 604 PM
   ROSEDALE AT 606 PM
   TIMONIUM AT 610 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 3940 7688 3923 7671 3936 7633 3956 7657

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, 4:41 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	LWX	Washington	49 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, 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 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.