Alert archive / Virginia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2011

Mesoscale Discussion 801

May 18, 20115 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 18, 2011, 11:55 AM EDT for 5 states. It was in force for 65 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 2011, 11:55 AM EDT (15:55 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 2011, 1:00 PM EDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 120 counties

Allegany County, MD, Anne Arundel County, MD, Calvert County, MD, Carroll County, MD, Charles County, MD, Frederick County, MD, Garrett County, MD, Howard County, MD, Montgomery County, MD, Prince George's County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Washington County, MD, Belmont County, OH, Harrison County, OH, Jefferson County, OH, Adams County, PA, Allegheny County, PA, Beaver County, PA, Bedford County, PA, Blair County, PA, Cambria County, PA, Fayette County, PA, Franklin County, PA, Fulton County, PA, Greene County, PA, Indiana County, PA, Somerset County, PA, Washington County, PA, Westmoreland County, PA, Albemarle County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Amherst County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Arlington County, VA, Augusta 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 Colonial Heights, VA, City of Fairfax, VA, City of Falls Church, VA, City of Fredericksburg, VA, City of Harrisonburg, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Manassas, VA, City of Manassas Park, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Staunton, VA, City of Waynesboro, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, City of Winchester, VA, Clarke County, VA, Culpeper County, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Essex County, VA, Fairfax County, VA, Fauquier County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Frederick County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greene County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Highland 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, Nelson County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Orange County, VA, Page County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince William County, VA, Rappahannock County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Rockingham County, VA, Shenandoah County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Stafford County, VA, Warren County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, Barbour County, WV, Berkeley County, WV, Brooke County, WV, Doddridge County, WV, Grant County, WV, Hampshire County, WV, Hancock County, WV, Hardy County, WV, Harrison County, WV, Jefferson County, WV, Lewis County, WV, Marion County, WV, Marshall County, WV, Mineral County, WV, Monongalia County, WV, Morgan County, WV, Ohio County, WV, Pendleton County, WV, Preston County, WV, Randolph County, WV, Taylor County, WV, Tucker County, WV, Upshur County, WV, Wetzel County, WV

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:55 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 90 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 2011-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 256 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 2011-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 83 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
256 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
585 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
83 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
106 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

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SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 12:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll and 18 more8 hr
May 18, 3:08 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll and 18 more67 min
May 18, 6:01 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll and 15 more89 min
May 18, 2:34 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBerks, Bucks, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Lebanon and 12 more56 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Virginia, 2011Mesoscale Discussions in West Virginia, 2011Mesoscale Discussions in Pennsylvania, 2011Every mesoscale discussion 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.