Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 69, NWS Wakefield, VA

September 17, 2004City of Norfolk, Virginia

NWS Wakefield, VA issued this tornado warning at Sep 17, 2004, 7:06 PM EDT for City of Norfolk, Virginia. It was in force for 24 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 17, 2004, 7:06 PM EDT (23:06 UTC)
Expired
Sep 17, 2004, 7:30 PM EDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Wakefield, VA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County City of Norfolk, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:09 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 17, 1:15 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr
Sep 17, 6:50 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 140 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-09-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 516 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-09-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 60 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
516 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
576 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
60 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS51 KAKQ 172306
TORAKQ
VAC710-172330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
706 PM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CITY OF NORFOLK IN SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT

* AT 704 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR GHENT...OR
  ABOUT OVER DOWNTOWN PORTSMOUTH...MOVING NORTH AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  NORFOLK NAS...WILLOUGHBY SPIT...WARDS CORNER AND OCEAN VIEW BY 715
  PM EDT...

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 3685 7622 3682 7625 3682 7628 3683 7629
      3684 7628 3687 7632 3689 7631 3696 7632
      3697 7630 3694 7618

$$

REILLY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 17, 2:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQSouthampton, City of Franklin, City of Suffolk30 min
Sep 17, 2:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQIsle of Wight40 min
Sep 17, 3:10 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQPrince Edward35 min
Sep 17, 3:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQLunenburg, Nottoway33 min
Sep 17, 3:31 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQHanover14 min
Sep 17, 3:38 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQNottoway22 min
Sep 17, 3:47 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQCaroline28 min
Sep 17, 3:56 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQAmelia19 min
Sep 17, 4:17 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQAmelia, Chesterfield28 min
Sep 17, 4:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQCaroline9 min
Sep 17, 4:28 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQPrince Edward17 min
Sep 17, 4:38 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQMecklenburg22 min
Sep 17, 4:45 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQChesterfield, Goochland, Henrico, Powhatan15 min
Sep 17, 5:00 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQHanover, Henrico30 min
Sep 17, 5:04 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQCumberland, Prince Edward41 min
Sep 17, 5:24 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningAKQLunenburg, Prince Edward2 hr
Sep 17, 5:27 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQHanover, Henrico, New Kent33 min
Sep 17, 5:54 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQCaroline36 min
Sep 17, 6:12 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningAKQCumberland93 min
Sep 17, 6:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQAmelia, Goochland, Powhatan29 min
Sep 17, 6:20 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQGreensville, City of Emporia25 min
Sep 17, 6:28 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQCity of Chesapeake47 min
Sep 17, 6:39 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQGloucester, James City, King and Queen36 min
Sep 17, 6:59 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQMiddlesex16 min
Sep 17, 7:08 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAKQ37 min
Sep 17, 7:14 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQLancaster16 min
Sep 17, 7:17 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningAKQAmelia, Caroline, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Essex, Goochland and 7 more118 min
Sep 17, 7:19 PM EDTTornado WarningAKQChesterfield26 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.