Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 49, NWS Wakefield, VA

September 8, 2004Chesterfield County, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Sep 8, 2004, 7:42 PM EDT for Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was in force for 33 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, 7:42 PM EDT (23:42 UTC)
Expired
Sep 8, 2004, 8:15 PM EDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Wakefield, VA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Chesterfield County, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:44 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, 6:40 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 179 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°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 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 082342
TORAKQ
VAC041-090015-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CHESTERFIELD COUNTY IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 815 PM EDT

* AT 739 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES SOUTH OF
  BEACH...OR ABOUT 9 MILES WEST OF COLONIAL HEIGHTS...MOVING NORTH AT
  30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  BEACH BY 750 PM EDT...
  CHESTERFIELD...POCAHONTAS STATE PARK AND CHESTER BY 755 PM EDT...
  CENTRALIA BY 800 PM EDT...
  DREWRYS BLUFF AND BELLWOOD BY 805 PM EDT...

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

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 3739 7737 3737 7739 3731 7741 3727 7745
      3726 7743 3724 7745 3724 7756 3727 7762
      3736 7762 3752 7754 3748 7752

$$

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, 3:23 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQCaroline22 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

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.