Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2011
Tornado Watch 101
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 5, 2011, 2:18 AM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 5, 2011, 2:18 AM EDT (06:18 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 5, 2011, 10:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 0.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 123 counties
Kent County, DE, New Castle County, DE, Sussex County, DE, Anne Arundel County, MD, Baltimore County, MD, Calvert County, MD, Caroline County, MD, Carroll County, MD, Cecil County, MD, Charles County, MD, City of Baltimore, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Frederick County, MD, Harford County, MD, Howard County, MD, Kent County, MD, Montgomery County, MD, Prince George's County, MD, Queen Anne's 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, Caswell County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Gates County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Accomack County, VA, Albemarle County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Amherst County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Arlington County, VA, Bedford 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 Alexandria, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Fairfax, VA, City of Falls Church, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Fredericksburg, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Lynchburg, VA, City of Manassas, VA, City of Manassas Park, VA, City of Martinsville, 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, Culpeper County, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Fairfax County, VA, Fauquier County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Franklin County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greene County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Halifax County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Henry 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, Loudoun County, VA, Louisa County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Madison County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, Nelson County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Orange County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Prince William County, VA, Rappahannock County, VA, Richmond County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Spotsylvania County, VA, Stafford County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:18 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
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 60%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 5%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
29 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2:26 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte and 4 more | 57 min |
| Apr 5, 2:36 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Campbell, Charlotte, Halifax, Pittsylvania | 54 min |
| Apr 5, 2:56 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Cumberland, Lunenburg, Prince Edward | 64 min |
| Apr 5, 2:58 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Caswell, Rockingham | 62 min |
| Apr 5, 3:04 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun and 7 more | 56 min |
| Apr 5, 3:12 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Caswell | 14 min |
| Apr 5, 3:19 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Cumberland, Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa | 41 min |
| Apr 5, 3:44 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Amelia, Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway | 61 min |
| Apr 5, 3:54 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Caroline, Goochland, Hanover, Louisa, Powhatan | 51 min |
| Apr 5, 4:05 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | King George, Spotsylvania, Stafford | 40 min |
| Apr 5, 4:29 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's | 51 min |
| Apr 5, 4:36 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Amelia, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Hanover, Henrico and 7 more | 54 min |
| Apr 5, 4:38 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Calvert, Charles, Saint Mary's | 67 min |
| Apr 5, 4:40 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and 2 more | 53 min |
| Apr 5, 4:46 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, Saint Mary's | 29 min |
| Apr 5, 4:55 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Prince George's | 24 min |
| Apr 5, 4:56 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Essex, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Middlesex, Northumberland and 2 more | 64 min |
| Apr 5, 4:57 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, Saint Mary's | 33 min |
| Apr 5, 4:58 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Charles City, Henrico, King and Queen, King William, New Kent | 32 min |
| Apr 5, 5:01 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Kent, New Castle | 74 min |
| Apr 5, 5:05 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's | 14 min |
| Apr 5, 5:22 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Calvert, Saint Mary's | 23 min |
| Apr 5, 5:23 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Charles City, Isle of Wight, James City, Prince George, Southampton, Surry and 4 more | 37 min |
| Apr 5, 5:28 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Kent, New Castle, Sussex | 62 min |
| Apr 5, 5:28 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Charles City, Gloucester, James City, King and Queen, Lancaster, Mathews and 4 more | 51 min |
| Apr 5, 5:42 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Northampton, York, City of Hampton and 4 more | 63 min |
| Apr 5, 5:43 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester | 62 min |
| Apr 5, 6:07 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | City of Chesapeake, City of Norfolk, City of Portsmouth, City of Virginia Beach | 53 min |
| Apr 5, 6:10 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford and 2 more | 65 min |
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 00:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 137 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 4112 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 284 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 328 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
217
WWUS20 KWNS 050619
SEL1
SPC WW 050619
DCZ000-DEZ000-MDZ000-NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-051400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 101
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
220 AM EDT TUE APR 5 2011
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DELAWARE
EASTERN MARYLAND
NORTHERN NORTH CAROLINA
VIRGINIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING FROM 220 AM UNTIL 1000 AM 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 APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 85 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM ROANOKE RAPIDS NORTH CAROLINA
TO 35 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF BALTIMORE MARYLAND. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).
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 SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 99. WATCH NUMBER 99 WILL NOT BE IN
EFFECT AFTER 220 AM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 97...WW 98...WW 100...
DISCUSSION...BROKEN BAND OF TSTMS EMERGING FROM THE BLUE RIDGE WILL
CONTINUE TO EXHIBIT SUPERCELL AND LEWP CHARACTERISTICS AS IT RACES
NEWD ACROSS THE WW AREA EARLY THIS MORNING. IN ADDITION TO THE
THREAT FOR DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADO POTENTIAL WILL BE ENHANCED BY
AMBIENT STRONG LOW-LEVEL SHEAR AND INTERACTION OF CONVECTIVE BAND
WITH OUTFLOW BOUNDARY RETREATING NWD THROUGH THE REGION.
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
350. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25050.
...MEADSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2:13 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Kent, Sussex | 32 min |
| Apr 5, 3:34 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Kent, New Castle, Sussex | 116 min |
| Apr 5, 5:07 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Cecil | 2 hr |
| Apr 5, 5:03 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and 8 more | 27 min |
| Apr 5, 6:25 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland and 14 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 4, 9:32 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Buncombe, Burke, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston and 8 more | 58 min |
| Apr 4, 9:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alexander, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell and 22 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 5, 12:21 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Chatham, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke and 7 more | 84 min |
| Apr 5, 12:36 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alleghany, Caswell, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes and 1 more | 111 min |
| Apr 5, 12:48 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Bladen, Chatham, Cumberland, Davidson and 27 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 5, 2:24 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Rowan | 66 min |
| Apr 5, 4:00 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven and 15 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 5, 7:08 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, Currituck, Dare and 10 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 5, 10:15 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret and 26 more | 90 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2011Tornado Watches in Maryland, 2011Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2011Every tornado watch 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.