Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 739

August 11, 20044 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 11, 2004, 2:35 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 11, 2004, 2:35 PM EDT (18:35 UTC)
Expired
Aug 11, 2004, 8:00 PM EDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 76 counties

Kent County, DE, New Castle County, DE, Sussex County, DE, Anne Arundel County, MD, Baltimore County, MD, Calvert County, MD, Caroline County, MD, Carroll County, MD, Cecil County, MD, Charles County, MD, City of Baltimore, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Frederick County, MD, Harford County, MD, Howard County, MD, Kent County, MD, Montgomery County, MD, Prince George's County, MD, Queen Anne's County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Talbot County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Atlantic County, NJ, Cape May County, NJ, Cumberland County, NJ, Gloucester County, NJ, Salem County, NJ, Accomack County, VA, Albemarle County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Arlington County, VA, Buckingham County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Alexandria, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA, City of Fairfax, VA, City of Falls Church, VA, City of Fredericksburg, VA, City of Manassas, VA, City of Manassas Park, VA, City of Richmond, VA, Culpeper County, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Essex County, VA, Fairfax County, VA, Fauquier County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King George County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Loudoun County, VA, Louisa County, VA, Madison County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Orange County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince William County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Stafford County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:36 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.

Warnings issued inside it

13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 11, 2:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFauquier, Prince William29 min
Aug 11, 3:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFairfax, City of Fairfax44 min
Aug 11, 3:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXHoward, Montgomery48 min
Aug 11, 3:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXArlington, City of Alexandria, City of Falls Church61 min
Aug 11, 3:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFairfax, City of Fairfax47 min
Aug 11, 4:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXHarford45 min
Aug 11, 4:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPrince George's40 min
Aug 11, 5:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIKent, Queen Anne's57 min
Aug 11, 5:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAnne Arundel59 min
Aug 11, 5:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHITalbot54 min
Aug 11, 6:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHITalbot53 min
Aug 11, 7:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHITalbot63 min
Aug 11, 7:28 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPHITalbot2 hr

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 79 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 2004-08-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 253 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 2004-08-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 51 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
253 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-107 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1194 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 11, 11:59 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCNew Castle91 min
Aug 11, 7:26 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCKent, New Castle, Sussex64 min
Aug 11, 12:31 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Howard, Kent, Montgomery and 4 more89 min
Aug 11, 12:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson and 11 more7 hr
Aug 11, 7:00 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson and 11 more90 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Virginia, 2004Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Maryland, 2004Severe Thunderstorm Watches in New Jersey, 2004Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.