Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 797
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 30, 2004, 12:50 PM EDT for Currituck County, North Carolina; 50 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 30, 2004, 12:50 PM EDT (16:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 30, 2004, 8:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 51 counties
Currituck County, NC, Amelia County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Norfolk, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Portsmouth, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Virginia Beach, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Louisa County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:52 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
9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 1:27 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Charles City, Henrico, Prince George, City of Hopewell | 33 min |
| Aug 30, 1:35 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Chesterfield | 25 min |
| Aug 30, 1:53 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | James City | 22 min |
| Aug 30, 3:35 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Gloucester, James City, York, City of Williamsburg | 25 min |
| Aug 30, 3:58 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | AKQ | Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, City of Richmond | 2 hr |
| Aug 30, 4:01 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Hanover | 14 min |
| Aug 30, 4:21 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Hanover, New Kent | 24 min |
| Aug 30, 5:54 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | AKQ | Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, King William, New Kent, City of Richmond | 2 hr |
| Aug 30, 7:58 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | AKQ | Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Essex, Hanover, Henrico and 4 more | 2 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, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 167 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -157 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 771 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 46 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 52 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 301653
SEL7
SPC WW 301650
NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-310000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 797
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1250 PM EDT MON AUG 30 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1250 PM UNTIL 800
PM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES WEST OF RICHMOND VIRGINIA TO 35
MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF NORFOLK VIRGINIA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
DISCUSSION...CENTER OF TD GASTON CONTINUES TO TRACK NORTHEASTWARD
ACROSS NORTHEAST NC. BANDS OF CONVECTION AHEAD OF CENTER ARE IN
ZONE OF RATHER STRONG LOW LEVEL VERTICAL SHEAR /1KM SHEAR OVER 20
KNOTS/. SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE MID 70S AND POCKETS OF STRONG
DAYTIME HEATING SHOULD AID IN THUNDERSTORM INTENSIFICATION THIS
AFTERNOON. ISOLATED TORNADOES APPEAR POSSIBLE.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 14030.
...HART
381,0783 374,0753 362,0753 364,0783SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 9:13 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin and 18 more | 92 min |
| Aug 30, 12:07 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford, Pasquotank and 3 more | 113 min |
| Aug 30, 3:06 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Accomack, Amelia, Brunswick, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield and 45 more | 114 min |
| Aug 30, 6:40 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Accomack, Amelia, Brunswick, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield and 46 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2004Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2004Every tornado 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.