Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Baltimore/Washington

May 5, 2004Charles County, Maryland

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at May 5, 2004, 6:11 PM EDT for Charles County, Maryland. It was in force for 34 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
May 5, 2004, 6:11 PM EDT (22:11 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 2004, 6:45 PM EDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Charles County, MD

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:14 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

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 66 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 2004-05-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2004-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 64 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1889 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
108 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 KLWX 052211
TORLWX
MDC017-052245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
611 PM EDT WED MAY 5 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  CHARLES COUNTY IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND

* UNTIL 645 PM EDT.

* AT 611 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH
  STRONG ROTATION 5 MILES NORTH OF HUGHESVILLE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT
  30 MPH. THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE HUGHESVILLE AND 
BENEDICT.

IF YOU ARE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER NOW IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO THREAT...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS CAN
BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. GO TO A SAFE PLACE NOW

LAT...LON 3865 7682 3859 7687 3850 7679 3853 7668

$$
MANNING

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 4:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXMontgomery62 min
May 5, 5:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXHarford42 min
May 5, 5:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPrince George's68 min
May 5, 6:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCalvert66 min
May 5, 6:26 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXSaint Mary's64 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 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.