Alert archive / Virginia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 1735

August 10, 20124 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Aug 10, 2012, 3:31 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 89 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 10, 2012, 3:31 PM EDT (19:31 UTC)
Expired
Aug 10, 2012, 5:00 PM EDT
In force
89 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
40%
All 50 counties

Carroll County, MD, Frederick County, MD, Montgomery County, MD, Washington County, MD, Adams County, PA, Cumberland County, PA, Franklin County, PA, Fulton County, PA, Huntingdon County, PA, Juniata County, PA, Mifflin County, PA, Perry County, PA, Albemarle County, VA, Amherst County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Augusta County, VA, Buckingham County, VA, City of Buena Vista, VA, City of Charlottesville, VA, City of Fairfax, VA, City of Harrisonburg, VA, City of Lexington, VA, City of Manassas, VA, City of Manassas Park, VA, City of Staunton, VA, City of Waynesboro, VA, City of Winchester, VA, Clarke County, VA, Culpeper County, VA, Fairfax County, VA, Fauquier County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Frederick County, VA, Greene County, VA, Loudoun County, VA, Madison County, VA, Nelson County, VA, Orange County, VA, Page County, VA, Prince William County, VA, Rappahannock County, VA, Rockbridge County, VA, Rockingham County, VA, Shenandoah County, VA, Stafford County, VA, Warren County, VA, Berkeley County, WV, Hampshire County, WV, Jefferson County, WV, Morgan County, WV

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:30 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 nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 79 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 2012-08-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 279 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 2012-08-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 8 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
279 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-40 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
652 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

409 
ACUS11 KWNS 101932
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 101931
PAZ000-MDZ000-VAZ000-WVZ000-102100-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1735
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0231 PM CDT FRI AUG 10 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...PARTS OF WRN/NRN VA...WRN AND CNTRL MD...S CNTRL PA

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE

VALID 101931Z - 102100Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...40 PERCENT

SUMMARY...THE NEED FOR A WATCH IS STILL NOT CERTAIN...BUT TRENDS ARE
BEING MONITORED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INCREASING SEVERE THREAT
THAT COULD REQUIRE A WW WITHIN THE NEXT 1 TO 2 HOURS.

DISCUSSION...MID/UPPER FORCING FOR UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION TO SUPPORT
CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT REMAINS A BIT UNCLEAR...BUT UPPER FLOW ACROSS
AND TO THE LEE OF THE ALLEGHENY MOUNTAINS IS DIFLUENT...TO THE EAST
OF THE QUASI-STATIONARY GREAT LAKES CYCLONE.  AND LOW-LEVEL LAPSE
RATES ARE BECOMING FAIRLY STEEP WITHIN AT LEAST A NARROW CORRIDOR OF
STRONGER HEATING TO THE LEE OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN.  GIVEN THE
CONTINUING PRESENCE OF SURFACE DEW POINTS IN THE UPPER 60S TO NEAR
70F ACROSS THIS REGION...BOUNDARY LAYER CAPE COULD BECOME MODERATELY
LARGE WITH AT LEAST WEAK MID-LEVEL COOLING...WHICH APPEARS
POSSIBLE...BUT IS NOT CERTAIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON.  GIVEN THE CLOSE
PROXIMITY OF THE 40-50 KT CYCLONIC 500 MB JET STREAK NOSING
NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY...SCATTERED STRONG/SEVERE
STORM DEVELOPMENT DOES NOT APPEAR OUT OF THE QUESTION BETWEEN NOW
AND 22-23Z.  ALTHOUGH LOW-LEVEL FLOW AND SHEAR LIKELY WILL REMAIN
FAIRLY WEAK...ORGANIZED CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT...INCLUDING ISOLATED
SUPERCELLS...MAY PROVIDE A RISK FOR SEVERE WIND GUSTS AND HAIL.

..KERR/CORFIDI.. 08/10/2012

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...AKQ...CTP...LWX...RNK...

LAT...LON   37787951 38627892 39317876 39797849 40817801 40987763
            40607681 39547699 38467735 37217894 37787951

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 10, 8:21 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCaroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset and 3 more2 hr
Aug 10, 7:31 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil and 12 more119 min
Aug 10, 12:49 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cameron, Clarion and 16 more86 min
Aug 10, 12:20 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBuchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell and 4 more85 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Virginia, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Pennsylvania, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Maryland, 2012Every mesoscale discussion in 2012

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.