Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 235

June 4, 20216 counties in Maryland; 6 counties in North Carolina; 51 counties in Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jun 4, 2021, 12:59 PM EDT for 6 counties in Maryland; 6 counties in North Carolina; 51 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 4, 2021, 12:59 PM EDT (16:59 UTC)
Expired
Jun 4, 2021, 8:00 PM EDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
55 kt
All 63 counties

Calvert County, MD, Charles County, MD, Dorchester County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Camden County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Gates County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Accomack County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, 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, 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, Mathews County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Orange County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince George 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), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:00 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
10%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
50%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
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
70%

Warnings issued inside it

11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 4, 1:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXOrange, Spotsylvania, City of Fredericksburg36 min
Jun 4, 1:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCalvert, Charles, Prince George's, Saint Mary's39 min
Jun 4, 2:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCalvert, Charles, Saint Mary's43 min
Jun 4, 2:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCalvert, Charles, Saint Mary's40 min
Jun 4, 2:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQDorchester30 min
Jun 4, 3:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQEssex, Northumberland, Richmond, Westmoreland42 min
Jun 4, 3:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXSaint Mary's41 min
Jun 4, 3:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXSaint Mary's51 min
Jun 4, 3:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQEssex, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Westmoreland61 min
Jun 4, 5:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQIsle of Wight, James City, Surry, York, City of Hampton, City of Newport News and 1 more61 min
Jun 4, 7:16 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningAKQIsle of Wight3 hr

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 12:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 141 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 2021-06-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 381 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 2021-06-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -8 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
381 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
947 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

622 
WWUS20 KWNS 041657
SEL5  
SPC WW 041657
MDZ000-NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-050100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 235
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
100 PM EDT Fri Jun 4 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Southern Maryland
  Northeast North Carolina
  East/Southeast Virginia
  Coastal Waters

* Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 100 PM until
  900 PM EDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 65 mph possible

SUMMARY...Clusters of storms will move east-southeastward across the
region this afternoon with the strongest storms capable of wind
damage.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 75
statute miles north and south of a line from 45 miles west northwest
of Richmond VA to 45 miles east northeast of Norfolk VA. For a
complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for 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. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 55 knots. A few
cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
29025.

...Guyer

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 4, 12:46 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, Saint Mary's and 2 more59 min
Jun 4, 2:26 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCecil, Harford94 min
Jun 4, 4:12 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalvert, Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Harford, Kent and 6 more93 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Virginia, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Maryland, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Carolina, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2021

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.