Alert archive / Maryland / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

May 18, 2011Queen Anne's County, Talbot County, Maryland

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this tornado warning at May 18, 2011, 2:39 PM EDT for Queen Anne's County, Talbot County, Maryland. It was in force for 51 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 18, 2011, 2:39 PM EDT (18:39 UTC)
Expired: May 18, 2011, 3:30 PM EDT
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Queen Anne's County, MD, Talbot County, MD

The radar

The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:40 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 18, 12:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 76 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 79 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 561 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 66 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 169 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.

011 
WFUS51 KPHI 181839
TORPHI
MDC035-041-181930-
/O.NEW.KPHI.TO.W.0005.110518T1839Z-110518T1930Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
239 PM EDT WED MAY 18 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN TALBOT COUNTY IN EASTERN MARYLAND...
  SOUTHWESTERN QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MARYLAND...

* UNTIL 330 PM EDT

* AT 235 PM EDT...LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL REPORTED A         
  TORNADO NEAR OXFORD...OR 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF EASTON...MOVING      
  NORTH AT 25 MPH.

  THERE WAS A TORNADO TOUCH DOWN OBSERVED EARLIER NEAR ISLAND CREEK.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  9 MILES EAST OF TILGHMAN ISLAND BY 250 PM EDT...
  ST. MICHAELS BY 255 PM EDT...
  COPPERVILLE AND TALBOT BY 300 PM EDT...
  GRASONVILLE BY 320 PM EDT...
  CHESTER BY 325 PM EDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT
WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR DELAWARE AND NORTHEASTERN MARYLAND AND SOUTHERN
NEW JERSEY.

&&

LAT...LON 3866 7621 3873 7625 3870 7627 3872 7631
      3866 7635 3867 7635 3875 7637 3883 7631
      3887 7625 3882 7621 3883 7620 3894 7624
      3890 7624 3893 7628 3887 7632 3884 7638
      3898 7635 3900 7611 3861 7608
TIME...MOT...LOC 1838Z 171DEG 22KT 3869 7616

$$

GORSE

1 follow-up statement

118 
WWUS51 KPHI 181850
SVSPHI

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
250 PM EDT WED MAY 18 2011

MDC035-041-181930-
/O.CON.KPHI.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-110518T1930Z/
QUEEN ANNE'S MD-TALBOT MD-
250 PM EDT WED MAY 18 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 330 PM EDT FOR WESTERN
TALBOT AND SOUTHWESTERN QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTIES...

AT 245 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED BETWEEN ST. MICHAELS 
AND EASTON...MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.

THIS STORM HAS HAD A HISTORY OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  ST. MICHAELS AND 7 MILES EAST OF TALBOT BY 255 PM EDT...
  COPPERVILLE BY 300 PM EDT...
  QUEENSTOWN...GRASONVILLE...7 MILES EAST OF CHESTER AND 9 MILES EAST
  OF STEVENSVILLE SOUTH BY 320 PM EDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT
WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR DELAWARE AND NORTHEASTERN MARYLAND AND SOUTHERN
NEW JERSEY.

&&

LAT...LON 3867 7609 3873 7625 3870 7627 3872 7631
      3866 7635 3867 7635 3875 7637 3883 7631
      3887 7625 3882 7621 3883 7620 3894 7624
      3890 7624 3893 7628 3887 7632 3884 7638
      3898 7635 3900 7611
TIME...MOT...LOC 1848Z 177DEG 24KT 3876 7614

$$

GORSE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 18, 2:29 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	PHI	Talbot	61 min
May 18, 3:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PHI	Kent, Queen Anne's, Talbot	47 min
May 18, 4:01 PM EDT	Coastal Flood Statement	PHI	Kent, Queen Anne's, Talbot	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Maryland, 2011 Every tornado warning in 2011 Tornadoes in 2011

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.