Alert archive / Virginia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 245

March 13, 20036 counties in Maryland; 17 counties in North Carolina; 60 counties in Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 13, 2003, 6:04 PM EST for 6 counties in Maryland; 17 counties in North Carolina; 60 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 86 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 13, 2003, 6:04 PM EST (23:04 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 2003, 7:30 PM EST
In force
86 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 83 counties

Calvert County, MD, Charles County, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Prince George's County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Talbot County, MD, Alamance County, NC, Caswell County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Durham County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Granville County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Orange County, NC, Person County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Vance County, NC, Warren County, NC, Amelia County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Buckingham County, VA, Campbell County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Charlotte County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Alexandria, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Fredericksburg, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Martinsville, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Halifax County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King George County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Louisa County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Stafford County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 106 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:08 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 nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 117 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2003-03-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2003-03-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 73 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1559 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
68 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.

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SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 1:55 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCharles, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Washington2 hr
Mar 13, 2:20 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllegany, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard and 3 more6 hr
Mar 13, 6:33 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalvert, Charles, Dorchester, Prince George's, Saint Mary's, Talbot87 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Virginia, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Maryland, 2003Every mesoscale discussion 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.