Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2005

Tornado Watch 18

January 14, 20054 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 14, 2005, 5:00 AM EST for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 14, 2005, 5:00 AM EST (10:00 UTC)
Expired
Jan 14, 2005, 11:00 AM EST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 70 counties

Sussex County, DE, Calvert County, MD, Charles County, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Talbot County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Bertie County, NC, Camden County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Gates County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Martin County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Accomack County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, 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, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Gloucester 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 George County, VA, King William County, VA, Lancaster County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 20 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:02 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
Jan 14, 5:11 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCharles49 min
Jan 14, 5:18 AM ESTTornado WarningAKQCamden169 days
Jan 14, 5:25 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHVance35 min
Jan 14, 5:27 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHWake33 min
Jan 14, 5:28 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQNorthampton219 days
Jan 14, 5:33 AM ESTTornado WarningRAHWake17 min
Jan 14, 5:43 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXKing George47 min
Jan 14, 5:47 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHFranklin, Warren43 min
Jan 14, 6:01 AM ESTTornado WarningRAHWarren14 min
Jan 14, 7:36 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQDorchester219 days
Jan 14, 9:24 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQChowan, Gates, Pasquotank, Perquimans246 days
Jan 14, 9:46 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQCamden, Currituck, Pasquotank247 days
Jan 14, 9:59 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMHXCraven, Martin53 days

Discussions around it

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

The nearest sounding before it

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 00:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 196 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 00:00Z on 2005-01-14Temperature 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 00:00Z on 2005-01-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 251 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
920 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
251 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
265 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 141002
SEL8  
SPC WW 141000
DEZ000-MDZ000-NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-141600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 18
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
500 AM EST FRI JAN 14 2005

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTHERN DELAWARE
       SOUTHERN MARYLAND
       NORTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
       EASTERN VIRGINIA
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING FROM 500 AM UNTIL 1100 AM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES NORTH OF SALISBURY MARYLAND TO 15 MILES
SOUTH OF ROCKY MOUNT NORTH CAROLINA.

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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 15...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 16. WATCH NUMBER 15 16 WILL
NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 500 AM EST. CONTINUE...WW 17...

DISCUSSION...VERY STRONG SHEAR PROFILES AHEAD OF INSTABILITY LINE
MOVING EWD ACROSS VA/NC.  ALTHOUGH INSTABILITY IS MARGINAL...THE
SFC-1KM SHEAR OF 50 KT AND HELICITIES UPWARDS TO 500 M2/S2 WILL
CONTINUE TO SUPPORT POTENTIAL FOR LOW TOPPED TORNADIC SUPERCELLS
EMBEDDED IN THE LINE AS IT CONTINUES EWD.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 350.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23050.


...HALES

384,0741 353,0763 353,0790 384,0764

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 14, 1:55 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCSussex5 hr
Jan 14, 2:36 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCKent, New Castle114 min
Jan 14, 4:15 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCSussex90 min
Jan 14, 7:05 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCSussex85 min
Jan 13, 7:48 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Davie and 9 more87 min
Jan 13, 9:41 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Davie and 8 more94 min
Jan 13, 10:58 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlamance, Alexander, Anson, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Caswell and 27 more62 min
Jan 13, 11:40 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCAlamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Cumberland and 29 more5 hr
Jan 14, 2:26 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlamance, Anson, Bladen, Caswell, Chatham, Columbus and 34 more94 min
Jan 14, 3:56 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBladen, Chatham, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham and 24 more64 min
Jan 14, 10:23 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCraven67 min
Jan 14, 12:32 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlbemarle, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Brunswick and 42 more88 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2005Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2005Tornado Watches in Maryland, 2005Every tornado watch in 2005

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.