Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 161, NWS Baltimore/Washington

July 4, 2004Albemarle County, City of Charlottesville, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 2004, 7:08 PM EDT for Albemarle County, City of Charlottesville, Virginia. It was in force for 52 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 4, 2004, 7:08 PM EDT (23:08 UTC)
Expired
Jul 4, 2004, 8:00 PM EDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Albemarle County, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 138 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:08 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 nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 126 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-07-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 259 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-07-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 23 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
259 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-26 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
692 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
29 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 4, 2:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 2:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 38 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
230 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2004

.SHORT TERM(TONIGHT AND MONDAY)...
NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS
AFTERNOON. EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE THROUGH MID EVENING...
AS MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS STILL OVER WEST VIRGINIA. AIRMASS
VERY MOIST WITH PWATS NEAR 2 AND DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER 70S. MODELS
SHOWING WEAK IMPULSES TRACKING ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT...SO WILL
KEEP LIKELY POPS EARLY AND TRIM BACK TO A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS BY MIDNIGHT.

THE MAIN CONCERN OVERNIGHT WILL BE SOME MINOR FLOODING. STORM TOTAL
PRECIP AND IFLOWS READINGS SHOWING SOME SITES IN THE 2 TO 5  RANGE
FOR 24 HOURS. SOME OF THESE READINGS MAY BE A LITTLE HIGH...BUT THESE
STORMS CERTAINLY ARE EFFICIENT RAIN PRODUCERS.

EXPECT FEWER CLOUDS TOMORROW...SO TEMPS A FEW DEGREES WARMER AND WE
WILL BE A LITTLE MORE UNSTABLE. NORTHERN TIER OF THE FORECAST AREA
IN SLIGHT RISK. COLD FRONT WILL START TO APPROACH BY TOMORROW
AFTERNOON. MOS TEMPS GENERALLY ACCEPTED.

.MARINE...NO FLAGS. WIND SPEEDS WILL BE AOB 15KT....BUT EXPECT
HIGHER WINDS AND WAVES WITH TSTMS.

.AVIATION...IFR CONDITIONS THROUGH MUCH OF THE PERIOD. NUMEROUS TSTMS
THROUGH 01Z REDUCING CIGS AND VSBYS. BRIEF MVFR CIGS WITH IFR CIGS
RETURNING BY 07Z.

.LONGER TERM(MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...
SUMMER WX ENTRENCHED OVR THE MID ATLC FOR THE NEXT WK. AVG HIGHS AT
THIS TIME OF YR ARE U80S...AND MU80S LOOK TO BE THE PREDOMINANT AFTN
TEMPS THRU FRI. TDAS MRF DEPICTS UPR RDG OVR THE ERN SEABOARD NEXT
WKND. A LTL SURPRISED THAT 850 MRF TEMPS ARENT WRMR THAN THEY ARE -
WL GO FOR ARND 90 IN THE METRO AREAS...BUT WOULDNT BE SURPRISED
THAT WELL HV TO RAISE THOSE EVEN A LTL HIGHER DURG THE WK.

NEXT ISSUE IS PCPN. AM CUTTING BACK TIMEWISE SOMEWHAT ON WHAT WED
BEEN ADVRTSG POP-WISE. TO BEGIN THE XTND PD - CD FNT WL BE EXITING
CWA MON NGT. WL GO W/ SLT CHC POPS THRU MDNGT.

DURG MIDWK CD FNT PROGGED ACROSS AREA ON WED..AND HV CHC/SLT CHC W-E
WED AFTN...CHC AREAWIDE WED NGT...TAPERING TO SLT CHC E THU EVE.

W/ THE BEFOREMENTIONED RDG NEXT WKND FEEL CONVCTN WL BE SURPRESSED.
NOT SAYING THERE WONT BE A CELL OR TWO...BUT NOT WORTHY OF SLT CHC
POPS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CWA.

WOODY

&&

.LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.
MARINE...NONE.

&&

SHORT TERM/AVIATION/MARINE...CPW
LONG TERM...ABW
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 4, 10:25 AM EDT, 8 hours 43 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
1025 AM EDT SUN JUL 4 2004

DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-
050>057-WVZ048>055-042024-
ALBEMARLE VA-ALLEGANY MD-ANNE ARUNDEL MD-
ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA VA-AUGUSTA VA-BERKELEY WV-
CALVERT MD-CARROLL MD-CHARLES MD-CLARKE VA-CULPEPER VA-
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC-FAIRFAX VA-FAUQUIER VA-FREDERICK VA-
FREDERICK MD-GRANT WV-GREENE VA-HAMPSHIRE WV-HARDY WV-HARFORD MD-
HIGHLAND VA-HOWARD MD-JEFFERSON WV-KING GEORGE VA-LOUDOUN VA-
MADISON VA-MINERAL WV-MONTGOMERY MD-MORGAN WV-NELSON VA-
NORTHERN BALTIMORE MD-ORANGE VA-PAGE VA-PENDLETON WV-
PRINCE GEORGES MD-PRINCE WILLIAM/MANASSAS/MANASSAS PARK VA-
RAPPAHANNOCK VA-ROCKINGHAM VA-SHENANDOAH VA-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE MD-
SPOTSYLVANIA VA-ST. MARYS MD-STAFFORD VA-WARREN VA-WASHINGTON MD-
1025 AM EDT SUN JUL 4 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE
BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...NORTHERN AND
CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND WASHINGTON DC.

.DAY ONE...
NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE EXTREME
EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA...NORTHERN VIRGINIA AND PORTIONS
OF MARYLAND THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT
DEVELOPS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. PONDING
OF WATER ON ROADWAYS AND IN LOW LYING AREAS WILL BECOME A PROBLEM IN
AREAS WHERE THUNDERSTORMS REPEATEDLY TRACK.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED...BUT RAINFALL REPORTS
WILL BE APPRECIATED.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 4, 3:20 PM EDT, 3 hours 48 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 4, 5:01 PM EDT, 2 hours 7 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 4, 5:40 PM EDT, 1 hour 28 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 4, 5:57 PM EDT, 1 hour 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
557 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2004

VAZ025-042330-
AUGUSTA VA-
557 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2004

A BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS AUGUSTA COUNTY
BETWEEN 6:00 PM AND 7:30 PM. THEY ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH
STAUNTON BETWEEN 6:30 AND 7:00 PM. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL PRODUCE
BRIEF...HEAVY RAIN...WIND GUSTS TO 25 MPH AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

SMITH
Special weather statement, Jul 4, 7:02 PM EDT, 6 minutes before
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 4, 1:34 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXAugusta, Nelson3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2004Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.