Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2026

Tornado Warning 25, NWS Baltimore/Washington

July 21, 2026Shenandoah County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this tornado warning at Jul 21, 2026, 7:49 PM EDT for Shenandoah County, Virginia. It was in force for 15 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 21, 2026, 7:49 PM EDT (23:49 UTC)
Expired
Jul 21, 2026, 8:04 PM EDT
In force
15 min
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Storm-based polygon
Tornado
Radar indicated
Hail
0.75 in

County Shenandoah County, VA

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:50 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 21, 2:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC11 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 102 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 2026-07-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 941 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 2026-07-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 68 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
941 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-113 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
772 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
112 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 21, 1:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAlbemarle, Nelson43 min
Jul 21, 2:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAlbemarle, Nelson, City of Charlottesville26 min
Jul 21, 2:20 PM EDTFlood WatchLWXAlbemarle, Amherst, Augusta, Highland, Nelson, Rockbridge and 5 more7 hr
Jul 21, 2:27 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX35 min
Jul 21, 3:24 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX103 min
Jul 21, 3:45 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX69 min
Jul 21, 3:52 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX83 min
Jul 21, 4:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFairfax37 min
Jul 21, 4:30 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX77 min
Jul 21, 5:26 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX19 min
Jul 21, 5:26 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningLWX2 hr
Jul 21, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXFrederick, Shenandoah, City of Winchester45 min
Jul 21, 6:19 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFrederick26 min
Jul 21, 6:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXLoudoun16 min
Jul 21, 6:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXHighland60 min
Jul 21, 7:03 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXFrederick10 min
Jul 21, 7:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXClarke, Frederick, Shenandoah, Warren, City of Winchester46 min
Jul 21, 7:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXPage, Rockingham, Shenandoah30 min
Jul 21, 7:32 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXShenandoah28 min
Jul 21, 7:42 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXRockingham, Shenandoah33 min
Jul 21, 7:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXLoudoun17 min
Jul 21, 7:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXClarke, Fauquier, Loudoun, Warren15 min
Jul 21, 4:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAnne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's43 min
Jul 21, 4:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXGarrett42 min
Jul 21, 4:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCecil34 min
Jul 21, 4:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCharles, Prince George's34 min
Jul 21, 4:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatLWXAnne Arundel, Calvert, Prince George's31 min
Jul 21, 5:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXAnne Arundel37 min
Jul 21, 6:00 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXBaltimore, City of Baltimore117 min
Jul 21, 6:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXGarrett39 min
Jul 21, 6:21 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXAnne Arundel, Baltimore, City of Baltimore95 min
Jul 21, 6:47 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLWXHoward, Montgomery70 min
Jul 21, 6:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXGrant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral43 min
Jul 21, 6:38 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXHampshire37 min
Jul 21, 6:56 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXPendleton34 min
Jul 21, 7:05 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXGrant, Hardy25 min
Jul 21, 7:24 PM EDTTornado WarningLWXPendleton21 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2026Every tornado warning in 2026Tornadoes in 2026

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.