Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 970
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 19, 2003, 11:25 AM EST for 5 counties in Maryland; 25 counties in North Carolina; 31 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Nov 19, 2003, 11:25 AM EST (16:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 19, 2003, 5:00 PM EST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 61 counties
Dorchester County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Camden County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Craven County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Gates County, NC, Greene County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Pender County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Washington County, NC, Accomack County, VA, Charles City County, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Norfolk, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Portsmouth, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Virginia Beach, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Essex County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:27 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.
Warnings issued inside it
1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 19, 12:42 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MHX | Duplin | 48 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
Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 142 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 24 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -8 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 971 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 28 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 86 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 191627
SEL0
SPC WW 191625
MDZ000-NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-192200-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 970
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1125 AM EST WED NOV 19 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEASTERN MARYLAND
EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
EASTERN VIRGINIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1125 AM UNTIL
500 PM EST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF JACKSONVILLE NORTH CAROLINA
TO 20 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF SALISBURY MARYLAND.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 967...WW 969...
DISCUSSION...SQUALL LINE IS INTENSIFYING AS IT LIFTS NEWD ACROSS
CENTRAL NC AND WESTERN VA. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE LIKELY WITH THIS
LINE...ALONG WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.
...HART/DARROW
342,0780 382,0765 382,0744 342,0761SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 19, 8:50 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil and 10 more | 6 hr |
| Nov 19, 10:57 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico | 93 min |
| Nov 19, 12:45 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, Cecil, Harford, Kent and 3 more | 5 hr |
| Nov 19, 12:47 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick and 5 more | 118 min |
| Nov 19, 2:27 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Saint Mary's, Somerset, Worcester | 93 min |
| Nov 19, 2:56 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, Cecil, Harford, Kent and 3 more | 2 hr |
| Nov 19, 3:59 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Somerset, Worcester | 61 min |
| Nov 19, 2:20 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alexander, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba and 17 more | 6 hr |
| Nov 19, 5:14 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Davidson and 10 more | 61 min |
| Nov 19, 6:31 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Bladen, Brunswick and 47 more | 119 min |
| Nov 19, 7:25 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Bladen and 48 more | 6 hr |
| Nov 19, 11:29 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke and 20 more | 61 min |
| Nov 19, 8:10 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Albemarle, Alleghany, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Arlington and 53 more | 3 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2003Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2003Tornado Watches in Maryland, 2003Every tornado 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.