Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2009
Tornado Watch 257
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 6, 2009, 8:26 PM EDT for 6 counties in Maryland; 36 counties in North Carolina; 63 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 6, 2009, 8:26 PM EDT (00:26 UTC)
- Expired
- May 7, 2009, 4:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 50 kt
All 105 counties
Calvert County, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Alamance County, NC, Anson County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Camden County, NC, Caswell County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Gates County, NC, Granville County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Orange County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Person County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Accomack County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Buckingham County, VA, Campbell County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Charlotte County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Fredericksburg, 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, Halifax 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, Louisa County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:29 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 SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 10%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 5%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 40%
Warnings issued inside it
6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 10:05 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Lunenburg | 25 min |
| May 6, 10:28 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Nottoway, Prince Edward | 32 min |
| May 6, 10:52 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Amelia | 28 min |
| May 6, 11:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Wicomico | 24 min |
| May 6, 11:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell, City of Lynchburg | 37 min |
| May 7, 12:24 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Essex, King and Queen, King William, Richmond, Westmoreland | 51 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 10:50 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dorchester, Saint Mary's, Somerset | 55 min |
| May 7, 12:10 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anne Arundel, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester and 6 more | 95 min |
| May 6, 11:44 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood and 11 more | 91 min |
| May 7, 5:17 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick and 58 more | 118 min |
| May 7, 3:03 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Bertie, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham and 38 more | 117 min |
| May 7, 6:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven and 21 more | 6 hr |
| May 7, 7:33 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret and 32 more | 57 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2009Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2009Tornado Watches in Maryland, 2009Every tornado watch in 2009
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.