Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 763

November 11, 20024 counties in Maryland; 41 counties in Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 11, 2002, 11:00 AM EST for 4 counties in Maryland; 41 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Nov 11, 2002, 11:00 AM EST (16:00 UTC)
Expired: Nov 11, 2002, 3:00 PM EST
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 45 counties

Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Accomack County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Norfolk, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Portsmouth, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Virginia Beach, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA

Warnings issued inside it

2 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 11, 11:33 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Charles City, James City	27 min
Nov 11, 12:46 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	City of Chesapeake, City of Virginia Beach	44 min

The nearest sounding before it

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 12:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 139 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: 380 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -157 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 768 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 223 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 245 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 
WWUS20 KWNS 111654
SEL3  
SPC WW 111600
MDZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-112000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 763
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1100 AM EST MON NOV 11 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

SOUTHEAST MARYLAND                           
EASTERN VIRGINIA                           
ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS OF CHESAPEAKE BAY                    

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1100 AM UNTIL 300
PM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF NORFOLK VIRGINIA TO 5
MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF SALISBURY MARYLAND.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 758.  WATCH NUMBER 758 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1100 AM
EST.  CONTINUE...WW 761...WW 762...

DISCUSSION...OUTFLOW FROM OVERNIGHT STORMS CONTINUES TO MOVE EWD
ACROSS ERN VA.  EXPECT CONVECTION TO INTENSIFY SOME BY THIS
AFTERNOON AS THE OUTFLOW ENCOUNTERS STRONGER INSTABILITY OVER SE
VA.  GIVEN THE NEAR 70 DEW POINTS...MODERATE INSTABILITY...AND
STRONG LOW-MID LEVEL WIND FIELDS...A THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS AND
A COUPLE OF TORNADOES WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24045.


...THOMPSON

382,0741 363,0755 363,0782 382,0764

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 10, 10:45 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Garrett	5 hr
Nov 11, 5:05 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles and 9 more	6 hr
Nov 11, 1:10 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Bland and 31 more	6 hr
Nov 11, 6:35 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	City of Danville	4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2002 Tornado Watches in Maryland, 2002 Every tornado watch 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.