Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 5, NWS Wilmington, NC

May 25, 1986Bladen County, Columbus County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 25, 1986, 3:40 PM EDT for Bladen County, Columbus County, North Carolina. It was in force for 60 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 25, 1986, 3:40 PM EDT (19:40 UTC)
Expired
May 25, 1986, 4:40 PM EDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bladen County, NC, Columbus County, NC

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 25, 4:10 PM EDTHail 1Columbus, NC
May 25, 4:18 PM EDTHail 0.75Bladen, NC

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 214 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1986-05-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 820 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1986-05-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 6 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
820 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-104 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1434 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 25, 2:55 PM EDT, 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
255 PM EDT SUN MAY 25 1986

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR ROBESON COUNTY
NORTH CAROLINA UNTIL 325 PM EDT

AT 230PM EDT WILMINGTON WEATHER RADAR SHOWED AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS
IN THE SOUTHERN COASTAL PLAINS IN ROBESON AND BLADEN COUNTIES.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AROUND 30 MPH.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY CAUSE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS
LIGHTENING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF
THIS AFTERNOONS WEATHER SITUATION VERY CAREFULLY. SHOULD HAIL OR DAMAGING
WINDS DEVELOP IN YOUR AREA SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER AND AFTER THE DANGER
HAS PASSED.. RELAY REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE THROUGH YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORECMENT OFFICE.
GLS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 2:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMRobeson60 min
May 25, 4:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMOnslow55 min
May 25, 5:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMRobeson40 min
May 25, 6:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMColumbus60 min
May 25, 6:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMBrunswick60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.