Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 33, NWS Wakefield, VA

September 18, 2003Worcester County, Maryland

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Sep 18, 2003, 6:30 PM EDT for Worcester County, Maryland. It was in force for 15 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
Sep 18, 2003, 6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC)
Expired
Sep 18, 2003, 6:45 PM EDT
In force
15 min
Issued by
NWS Wakefield, VA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Worcester County, MD

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Sep 18, 8:25 AM EDTTornado WatchSPC12 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 38 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2003-09-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 173 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2003-09-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 229 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
173 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
484 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
229 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
266 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KAKQ 182230 CCA
TORAKQ
MDC047-182245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
629 PM EDT THU SEP 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WORCESTER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MARYLAND

* UNTIL 645 PM EDT

* AT 629 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTH OF
  IRONSHIRE...OR ABOUT 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF OCEAN CITY...MOVING
  NORTHWEST AT 75 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   SNOW HILL AT 635 PM EDT.

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 3813 7521 3822 7522 3814 7528 3830 7551
          3830 7539 3834 7534 3843 7534 3835 7522
          3827 7508
$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 18, 6:29 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQWorcester16 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.