Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 39, NWS Wakefield, VA

September 8, 2004Caroline County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Sep 8, 2004, 3:23 PM EDT for Caroline County, Virginia. It was in force for 22 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 8, 2004, 3:23 PM EDT (19:23 UTC)
Expired
Sep 8, 2004, 3:45 PM EDT
In force
22 min
Issued by
NWS Wakefield, VA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Caroline County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:24 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
Sep 8, 12:50 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 91 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 2004-09-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 188 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-09-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 57 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
188 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
490 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
106 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.

000 
WFUS51 KAKQ 081923
TORAKQ
VAC033-081945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
323 PM EDT WED SEP 8 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CAROLINE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 345 PM EDT

* AT 321 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR BOWLING
  GREEN...OR ABOUT OVER BOWLING GREEN...MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  VILLBORO...WOODFORD AND FORT A.P. HILL BY 330 PM EDT...
  RAPPAHANNOCK ACADEMY AND GUINEA BY 335 PM EDT...
  CORBIN BY 340 PM EDT...

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OBSCURE THIS TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW IF YOU WAIT
TO SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3797 7745 3798 7723 3837 7722 3837 7750

$$

CULLEN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 8, 9:01 AM EDTTornado WarningAKQGreensville, Southampton, City of Emporia29 min
Sep 8, 10:18 AM EDTTornado WarningAKQDinwiddie12 min
Sep 8, 10:30 AM EDTTornado WarningAKQDinwiddie15 min
Sep 8, 2:05 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQKing William25 min
Sep 8, 2:23 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQHanover22 min
Sep 8, 5:23 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQAmelia, Nottoway22 min
Sep 8, 5:32 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQFluvanna28 min
Sep 8, 5:45 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQAmelia15 min
Sep 8, 5:55 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQLouisa35 min
Sep 8, 6:14 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQAmelia, Chesterfield16 min
Sep 8, 6:26 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQAmelia, Powhatan34 min
Sep 8, 6:33 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQChesterfield42 min
Sep 8, 7:08 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQHanover, Henrico37 min
Sep 8, 7:10 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQDinwiddie35 min
Sep 8, 7:42 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQChesterfield33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes in 2004

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.