Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Wakefield, VA

May 9, 2003Southampton County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at May 9, 2003, 4:51 PM EDT for Southampton County, Virginia. It was in force for 24 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, 4:51 PM EDT (20:51 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 2003, 5:15 PM EDT
In force: 24 min
Issued by: NWS Wakefield, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Southampton County, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:54 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, 4:15 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 204 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.

138 
WFUS51 KAKQ 092051
TORAKQ
VAC175-092115-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT

* AT 451 PM EDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT WAS TRACKING A POSSIBLE TORNADO 2  
  MILES WEST OF DREWRYVILLE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE STORM PRODUCING THE TORNADO WILL REACH...
  WORRELL AND CAPRON AROUND 455 PM,
  LITTLE TEXAS AROUND 500 PM,
  BOYKINS AND BRANCHVILLE AROUND 505 PM.

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING WHICH
WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE SAME AREA. GO TO A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR
ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR

TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.
VEHICLES AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR STURDIER SHELTER.

LAT...LON 3675 7732 3678 7726 3656 7704 3656 7734
          3670 7744 3675 7732
$$

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, 4:00 PM EDT, 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 4:00 PM EDT, 51 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD, VA
400 PM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003

BUSY AFTERNOON...DEALING WITH SUPERCELLS. IMPRESSIVE GATE TO GATE
ROTATION WITH MAIN CELL...AS IT MOVES SEWD. ENVIRONMENTAL SHEAR
IMPRESSIVE WITH SW SFC FLOW...AND STRONG NW WINDS ALFT. THIS LINE TO
CONTINUE SWD INTO N CAROLINA THIS EVENING. MORE SEVERE WX POSSIBLE
TOMORROW AND AGAIN SUNDAY. COLD FRONT TO CLEAR THE AREA SUN
NIGHT...SHOULD PUT AN END TO THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FINALLY.

SOME QUESTIONS IN THE EXTENDED ABOUT RAIN CHANCES DAYS 6 AND
7...NEXT THU AND FRI...BUT WILL LEAVE OUT FOR NOW AS NO MODEL
CONSENSUS YET AS TO HOW PROGESSIVE PATTERN WILL BE.

FCSTID =   18
SBY   54  79  60  79 /  30  30  30  40
OXB   52  71  60  72 /  30  30  30  40
ECG   61  82  67  88 /  30  30  30  40
ORF   60  82  67  87 /  30  30  30  40
PHF   60  82  66  85 /  30  30  30  40
AKQ   62  84  66  88 /  30  30  30  40
RIC   61  82  64  87 /  30  30  30  40
FVX   62  84  66  88 /  30  30  30  40

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

REILLY

Hazardous weather outlook, May 9, 5:30 AM EDT, 11 hours 21 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, 3:27 PM EDT, 1 hour 24 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

Local storm report, May 9, 4:04 PM EDT, 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
0404 PM EDT FRI MAY 09 2003

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

0340 PM    AMELIA                    VA   1.00 IN HAIL
05/09/03   AMELIA                         NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AT
                                          INTERSECTION OF RT 153 AND
                                          RT 360

0330 PM    AMELIA COURTHOUSE         VA   FX TORNADO
05/09/03   AMELIA                         POSSIBLE TOUCHDOWN AT
                                          INTERSECTION OF RT 60 AND
                                          RT 522

MPR

Local storm report, May 9, 4:10 PM EDT, 41 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
0410 PM EDT FRI MAY 09 2003

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

0330 PM    3 S CUMBERLAND            WV   1.75 IN HAIL
05/09/03   MINERAL                        TREES AND OUT BUILDINGS
                                          BLOWN OVER

MPR

Local storm report, May 9, 4:21 PM EDT, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
0421 PM EDT FRI MAY 09 2003

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

0415 PM    DINWIDDIE                 VA   0.75 IN HAIL
05/09/03   DINWIDDIE                      TREE LIMBS DOWN AT
                                          DINWIDDIE HIGH SCHOL ON
                                          CHURCH ROAD.

MPR

Local storm report, May 9, 4:27 PM EDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
0427 PM EDT FRI MAY 09 2003

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

0425 PM    CREWE                     VA   0.25 IN HAIL
05/09/03   NOTTOWAY

MPR

Local storm report, May 9, 4:47 PM EDT, 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
0447 PM EDT FRI MAY 09 2003

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

0440 PM    CARSON                    VA   0.75 IN HAIL
05/09/03   DINWIDDIE

0430 PM    DINWIDDIE                 VA   0.75 IN HAIL
05/09/03   DINWIDDIE                      ONE INCH OF HAIL COVERING
                                          PARTS OF I85.

MPR

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, 3:37 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	AKQ	Amelia, Dinwiddie	38 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, 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.