Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2026
Tornado Watch 67
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 16, 2026, 10:52 AM EDT for 18 counties in Maryland; 74 counties in Virginia; Berkeley County, Jefferson County, Morgan County, West Virginia. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 16, 2026, 10:52 AM EDT (14:52 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 16, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 75 kt
All 95 counties
Anne Arundel County, MD, Baltimore County, MD, Calvert 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, Montgomery County, MD, Prince George's County, MD, Saint Mary's County, MD, Somerset County, MD, Washington County, MD, Wicomico County, MD, Worcester County, MD, Accomack County, VA, Amelia County, VA, Arlington County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Caroline County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Alexandria, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, 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 Manassas, VA, City of Manassas Park, 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, City of Winchester, VA, Clarke County, VA, Culpeper County, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Essex County, VA, Fairfax County, VA, Fauquier County, VA, Fluvanna County, VA, Frederick County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Goochland County, VA, Greensville 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, Loudoun County, VA, Louisa County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Northumberland County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Orange 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, Warren County, VA, Westmoreland County, VA, York County, VA, Berkeley County, WV, Jefferson County, WV, Morgan County, WV
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:56 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
- 70%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 50%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 80%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 70%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 95%
Warnings issued inside it
26 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 10:55 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Culpeper, Fauquier, Orange, Spotsylvania | 33 min |
| Mar 16, 10:57 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Frederick, Montgomery, Washington | 48 min |
| Mar 16, 10:57 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William | 20 min |
| Mar 16, 11:14 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Orange, Prince William, Spotsylvania and 3 more | 23 min |
| Mar 16, 11:28 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Frederick, Montgomery | 17 min |
| Mar 16, 11:29 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Montgomery | 16 min |
| Mar 16, 11:40 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Washington and 1 more | 50 min |
| Mar 16, 11:40 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Montgomery | 20 min |
| Mar 16, 11:46 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Carroll, Frederick | 14 min |
| Mar 16, 11:59 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Carroll, Howard | 16 min |
| Mar 16, 12:00 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Carroll, Frederick | 15 min |
| Mar 16, 12:06 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Culpeper, Fauquier, Orange, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford | 39 min |
| Mar 16, 12:12 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Amelia, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward | 48 min |
| Mar 16, 12:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Fairfax, Fauquier, Prince William, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park | 21 min |
| Mar 16, 12:39 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Montgomery | 36 min |
| Mar 16, 12:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Charles | 26 min |
| Mar 16, 2:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's | 34 min |
| Mar 16, 2:16 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Charles, Prince George's, Saint Mary's | 44 min |
| Mar 16, 2:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, City of Baltimore | 40 min |
| Mar 16, 2:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, City of Baltimore | 31 min |
| Mar 16, 3:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | City of Chesapeake, City of Norfolk, City of Portsmouth, City of Virginia Beach | 18 min |
| Mar 16, 3:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | City of Virginia Beach | 40 min |
| Mar 16, 4:04 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | AKQ | City of Chesapeake, City of Norfolk, City of Portsmouth | 3 hr |
| Mar 16, 4:06 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | AKQ | City of Virginia Beach | 3 hr |
| Mar 16, 4:16 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Gloucester, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex | 32 min |
| Mar 16, 6:48 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ | Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Prince Edward | 57 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
- Mesoscale Discussion 268 Severe potential...watch likely
- Mesoscale Discussion 269 Severe potential...watch possible
- Mesoscale Discussion 273 Tornado watch 66...67
- Mesoscale Discussion 276 Tornado watch 67...69
- Mesoscale Discussion 277 Tornado watch 67
- Mesoscale Discussion 279 Severe potential...watch possible
The nearest sounding before it
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 91 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
- 131 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -49 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 644 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 270 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 312 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 11:30 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Kent, New Castle, Sussex | 6 hr |
| Mar 16, 3:14 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Kent, New Castle | 91 min |
| Mar 16, 10:03 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick and 9 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 16, 6:13 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allegany, Garrett | 4 hr |
| Mar 16, 12:41 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Washington and 3 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 16, 4:21 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Giles, Grayson and 9 more | 114 min |
| Mar 16, 4:36 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bland, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Giles, Grayson and 7 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 16, 8:40 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Albemarle, Alleghany, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta and 36 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 16, 8:54 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt and 18 more | 5 hr |
| Mar 16, 11:35 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Caroline, Charlotte and 15 more | 85 min |
| Mar 16, 2:00 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brunswick, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Gloucester, Greensville and 24 more | 90 min |
| Mar 16, 5:32 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Albemarle, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buckingham and 57 more | 118 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2026Tornado Watches in Maryland, 2026Tornado Watches in West Virginia, 2026Every tornado watch 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.