Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 39, NWS Baltimore/Washington

September 17, 2004Fauquier County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Sep 17, 2004, 3:55 PM EDT for Fauquier County, Virginia. It was in force for 65 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Sep 17, 2004, 3:55 PM EDT (19:55 UTC)
Expired
Sep 17, 2004, 5:00 PM EDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Fauquier County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 42 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:57 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 17, 4:25 PM EDTTORNADOWarrenton, VATORNADO REPORTED ON GROUND IN WARRENTON.
Sep 17, 4:25 PM EDTTORNADOWarrenton, VATORNADO REPORTED ON GROUND IN WARRENTON.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 45 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 2004-09-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 105 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 2004-09-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 74 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
105 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-89 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
687 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
74 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
150 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 171955
TORLWX
VAC061-172100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
355 PM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  FAUQUIER COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 500 PM EDT

* AT 352 PM EDT...DOPPLER INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 7 MILES
  SOUTH OF BEALETON...MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...THE PLAINS...
  WARRENTON AND BEALETON.

IF YOU ARE IN OR 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

LAT...LON 3859 7788 3842 7773 3870 7765 3892 7776
      3888 7783

$$
MANNING/STRONG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 17, 2:46 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXNelson44 min
Sep 17, 2:59 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXAlbemarle, City of Charlottesville61 min
Sep 17, 3:07 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXSpotsylvania, City of Fredericksburg53 min
Sep 17, 3:12 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXMadison, Rappahannock63 min
Sep 17, 3:19 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXOrange41 min
Sep 17, 3:32 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXCulpeper28 min
Sep 17, 3:42 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXAlbemarle, City of Charlottesville3 hr
Sep 17, 3:44 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXWarren46 min
Sep 17, 3:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXGreene40 min
Sep 17, 3:59 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXGreene46 min
Sep 17, 4:06 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXMadison54 min
Sep 17, 4:20 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXSpotsylvania, Stafford, City of Fredericksburg55 min
Sep 17, 4:31 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFrederick, City of Winchester59 min
Sep 17, 4:36 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXPage39 min
Sep 17, 4:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAlbemarle, City of Charlottesville51 min
Sep 17, 4:44 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXPrince William, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park61 min
Sep 17, 4:58 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFauquier, Loudoun62 min
Sep 17, 5:09 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXStafford36 min
Sep 17, 5:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXGreene49 min
Sep 17, 5:14 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXOrange31 min
Sep 17, 5:15 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXGreene30 min
Sep 17, 5:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXMadison52 min
Sep 17, 5:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPage64 min
Sep 17, 5:30 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFrederick, City of Winchester45 min
Sep 17, 5:32 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXCulpeper43 min
Sep 17, 5:38 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFairfax, City of Fairfax52 min
Sep 17, 5:44 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXPrince William, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park16 min
Sep 17, 5:49 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXMadison3 hr
Sep 17, 5:55 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXLoudoun65 min
Sep 17, 6:05 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFauquier55 min
Sep 17, 6:16 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFrederick29 min
Sep 17, 6:19 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXKing George56 min
Sep 17, 6:22 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX113 min
Sep 17, 6:36 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXFrederick, City of Winchester3 hr
Sep 17, 7:00 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXClarke60 min
Sep 17, 7:09 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXCulpeper66 min
Sep 17, 7:11 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFairfax, Prince William, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church64 min
Sep 17, 7:21 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXClarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Orange, Rappahannock, Warren3 hr
Sep 17, 7:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXStafford51 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.