Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 447

May 31, 20036 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 31, 2003, 1:40 PM EDT for 6 states. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 31, 2003, 1:40 PM EDT (17:40 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 2003, 7:00 PM EDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 86 counties

Kent County, DE, New Castle County, DE, Sussex County, DE, Anne Arundel County, MD, Baltimore County, MD, Calvert County, MD, Caroline County, MD, Carroll County, MD, Cecil County, MD, Charles County, MD, City of Baltimore, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Frederick County, MD, Harford County, MD, Howard County, MD, Kent County, MD, Montgomery County, MD, Prince George's County, MD, Queen Anne's County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Talbot County, MD, Washington County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Camden County, NJ, Cumberland County, NJ, Gloucester County, NJ, Hunterdon County, NJ, Salem County, NJ, Adams County, PA, Berks County, PA, Bucks County, PA, Chester County, PA, Cumberland County, PA, Dauphin County, PA, Delaware County, PA, Franklin County, PA, Fulton County, PA, Huntingdon County, PA, Juniata County, PA, Lancaster County, PA, Lebanon County, PA, Montgomery County, PA, Perry County, PA, Philadelphia County, PA, York County, PA, Accomack County, VA, Albemarle County, VA, Arlington County, VA, Caroline County, VA, City of Alexandria, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA, City of Fairfax, VA, City of Falls Church, VA, City of Fredericksburg, VA, City of Manassas, VA, City of Manassas Park, VA, City of Winchester, VA, Clarke County, VA, Culpeper County, VA, Essex County, VA, Fairfax County, VA, Fauquier County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Frederick County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greene County, VA, Hanover County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King George County, VA, Loudoun County, VA, Louisa County, VA, Madison County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Orange County, VA, Page County, VA, Prince William County, VA, Rappahannock County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Stafford County, VA, Warren County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, Berkeley County, WV, Jefferson County, WV, Morgan County, WV

Warnings issued inside it

9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 2:57 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXBerkeley, Morgan2 hr
May 31, 3:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFrederick, Washington34 min
May 31, 4:13 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXJefferson92 min
May 31, 4:26 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXFrederick2 hr
May 31, 4:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFrederick17 min
May 31, 5:11 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXCarroll109 min
May 31, 5:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXHoward, Montgomery51 min
May 31, 5:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXLoudoun48 min
May 31, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXHoward, Montgomery45 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 22 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 2003-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 20 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 2003-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 46 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
20 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-111 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1330 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 3:58 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCKent, New Castle2 hr
May 31, 1:06 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Washington114 min
May 31, 2:05 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCHenry, City of Danville6 hr
May 31, 2:30 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCAmelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell and 40 more6 hr
May 31, 6:37 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrunswick, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Henrico and 22 more83 min
May 31, 2:01 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCabell, Jackson, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam, Wayne and 1 more59 min
May 31, 3:32 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCabell, Jackson, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam, Wayne28 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Virginia, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Maryland, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Pennsylvania, 2003Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.