Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 29, NWS Baltimore/Washington

May 8, 2003Fauquier County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 8, 2003, 4:53 PM EDT for Fauquier County, Virginia. It was in force for 37 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
May 8, 2003, 4:53 PM EDT (20:53 UTC)
Expired
May 8, 2003, 5:30 PM EDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Fauquier County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 38 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 8, 12:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 42 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2003-05-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 203 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2003-05-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 29 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
203 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-52 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
820 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 8, 3:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 3:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 8, 10:24 AM EDT, 6 hours 29 minutes before
DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-
050>057-WVZ048>055-091000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
1024 AM EDT THU MAY 8 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE
BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...NORTHERN
VIRGINIA...THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SHENANDOAH VALLEY...AND THE
EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE
AREA. THE PRIMARY RISK THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING IS DAMAGING
WINDS...BUT SOME LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE. THE MOST LIKELY TIME FOR
SEVERE WEATHER IS BETWEEN 1 PM AND 9 PM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS INDICATED THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT
RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY ACROSS THE AREA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON.

MANNING/ROGOWSKI

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 8, 11:03 AM EDT, 5 hours 50 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
1103 AM EDT THU MAY 08 2003

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

0610 PM    1SE TYSONS CORNER         VA   WIND DAMAGE
05/07/03   FAIRFAX                        WIRES DOWN WOODLAND DRIVE

0622 PM    MERRIFIELD                VA   LIGHTNING
05/07/03   FAIRFAX                        TRANSFORMER BLOWN ON
                                          LANDING DRIVE

0626 PM    BAILEYS CROSSROADS        VA   WIND DAMAGE
05/07/03   FAIRFAX                        TREE FELL ON CAR ON
                                          ARLINGTON BLVD

0630 PM    ALEXANDRIA                VA   WIND DAMAGE
05/07/03   ALEXANDRIA                     DOWN LINES IN WESTERN END
                                          OF CITY

0656 PM    3NE MOUNT VERNON          VA   LIGHTNING
05/07/03   FAIRFAX                        HOUSE FIRE WEST BOULEVARD
                                          DRIVE

0703 PM    HERNDON                   VA   LIGHTNING
05/07/03   FAIRFAX                        TRANSFORMER BLOWN

0800 PM    COUNTYWIDE                MD   WIND DAMAGE
05/07/03   ST. MARYS                     DOWN TREES AND POWER
                                          LINES ACROSS THE COUNTY
Special weather statement, May 8, 1:39 PM EDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before
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Special weather statement, May 8, 2:20 PM EDT, 2 hours 33 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 8, 4:23 PM EDT, 30 minutes before
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 7, 8:40 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX65 min
May 8, 11:45 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX30 min
May 8, 11:51 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFairfax, City of Alexandria24 min
May 8, 12:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPage, Shenandoah51 min
May 8, 12:46 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX59 min
May 8, 1:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFauquier41 min
May 8, 1:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPrince William, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park46 min
May 8, 3:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFrederick41 min
May 8, 4:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFrederick, City of Winchester51 min
May 8, 4:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXClarke, Warren52 min
May 8, 5:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCulpeper, Fauquier46 min
May 8, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXSpotsylvania, Stafford, City of Fredericksburg60 min
May 7, 8:02 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXCalvert28 min
May 7, 8:13 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXSaint Mary's47 min
May 8, 11:55 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPrince George's50 min
May 8, 12:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXSaint Mary's54 min
May 8, 12:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCalvert49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.