Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Wakefield, VA

May 9, 2003Amelia County, Dinwiddie County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at May 9, 2003, 3:37 PM EDT for Amelia County, Dinwiddie County, Virginia. It was in force for 38 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 9, 2003, 3:37 PM EDT (19:37 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 2003, 4:15 PM EDT
In force: 38 min
Issued by: NWS Wakefield, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Amelia County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:39 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 9, 2:05 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 149 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: 59 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -186 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 982 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 153 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 199 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 KAKQ 091937
TORAKQ
VAC007-053-092015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
336 PM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  AMELIA COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  DINWIDDIE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 415 PM EDT

* AT 336 PM EDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT WAS TRACKING A TORNADO 3 MILES     
  NORTHWEST OF WINTERHAM IN AMELIA COUNTY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 45   
  MPH.

* THE STORM PRODUCING THE TORNADO WILL REACH...
  SCOTTS FORK AND WINTERHAM AROUND 340 PM
  MANNBORO AND EARLS AROUND 350 PM
  AMMON AND HEBRON AROUND 355 PM
  FORD AROUND 400 PM
  CENTER STAR AND CHURCH ROAD AROUND 405 PM
  DINWIDDIE AND BUTTERWORTH AROUND 410 PM

A TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED AREA. IF YOU ARE IN
OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER NOW

LAT...LON 3750 7796 3737 7812 3697 7763 3713 7744
$$

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 Wakefield, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 9, 11:20 AM EDT, 4 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 11:20 AM EDT, 4 hours 17 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD, VA
1120 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003

LATEST RADAR COMPOSITES SHOW AREA OF RAIN ASSOC WITH DECAYING MCS
MOVING SE INTO NRN VA. WOULD EXPECT THIS RAIN AREA TO CONTINUE ON
ITS PRESENT MOVEMENT AND CORFIDI VECTORS...ACROSS MAINLY NE PORTIONS
OF CWA. SW COUNTIES SHOULD CONTINUE TO HEAT UP...WITH A GOOD AMOUNT
OF SUNSHINE. WITH DIFFERENTIAL HEATING DUE TO CLOUD COVER
VARIATIONS...AND EXPECTED RAIN INTO THE COOLER...CLOUDIER
SIDE...THINK SET UP IS FAVORABLE FOR A PRETTY GOOD BOUNDARY TO SET
UP ACROSS MY CWA...POSSIBLY DOWN INTERSTATE 64 SIMILAR TO
YESTERDAY...OR A LITTLE FARTHER N. WITH STRONG NW FLOW ALFT...MORE
OR LESS PARALLEL TO THAT SFC BOUNDARY...LOOKS LIKE A SET UP FOR MORE
STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS TODAY NEAR THAT BOUNDARY.

HAVE MADE MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO TEMPS...A LITTLE COOLER OVER NE ZONES
BASED ON MORE CLOUDS...PRECIP...AND A SE WIND. ALSO...BUMPED UP POPS NE
ZONES...WITH RAIN AREA SET TO MOVE THROUGH THERE. WENT SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH.

FCSTID =   18

.AKQ...
MD...NONE.
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.

REILLY

Hazardous weather outlook, May 9, 5:30 AM EDT, 10 hours 7 minutes before

MDZ021>025-NCZ012>017-030>032-102-VAZ048-049-060>100-091600-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
530 AM EDT FRI MAY 09 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN VIRGINIA...
NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND THE LOWER MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON.  SOME
THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.
SEE SPSAKQ AND SWODY1 FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY.  SOME THUNDERSTORMS
MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.  SEE SWODY2
FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

07

THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES...AND
STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN
WAKEFIELD, VA CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT THE FOLLOWING
(LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.ERH.NOAA.GOV/AKQ.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 9, 11:17 AM EDT, 4 hours 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
1117 AM EDT FRI MAY 09 2003

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

0315 PM    JAMAICA                   VA   1.75 IN HAIL
05/08/03   MIDDLESEX

REILLY

Special weather statement, May 9, 12:40 PM EDT, 2 hours 57 minutes before

MDZ021>025-NCZ012>017-030>032-102-VAZ048-049-060>100-091800-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
1240 PM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON...

A WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO LIFT NORTH ACROSS VIRGINIA AND THE
LOWER EASTERN SHORE THIS AFTERNOON. MEANWHILE...AND AREA OF RAIN AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION FROM THE NORTHWEST TODAY. AS
THE STORMS MOVE INTO MORE UNSTABLE AIR...THEY WILL LIKELY INTENSIFY.
STORMS MAY ALSO FORM SOUTH OF THE EXISTING STORMS...ALONG ANY
OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES THAT ARE GENERATED. THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR
DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL UP TO DIME SIZE...AND EVEN ISOLATED TORNADOES
WITH THE STRONGER STORMS.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES. YOU CAN ALSO CHECK OUT OUR WEB SITE AT
WEATHER.NOAA.GOV/AKQ.

REILLY

Local storm report, May 9, 3:27 PM EDT, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
0327 PM EDT FRI MAY 09 2003

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

0300 PM    5 E SCOTTSVILLE           VA   1.50 IN HAIL
05/09/03   FLUVANNA

25

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wakefield, VA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 2:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Fluvanna	25 min
May 9, 2:58 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Cumberland	32 min
May 9, 3:09 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Amelia, Powhatan	31 min
May 9, 3:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Chesterfield	31 min
May 9, 3:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Nottoway	18 min
May 9, 4:12 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Dinwiddie, Greensville, Sussex	38 min
May 9, 4:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Nottoway	40 min
May 9, 4:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Southampton	38 min
May 9, 4:51 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Southampton	24 min
May 9, 5:11 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AKQ	Mecklenburg	29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes in 2003

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.