Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 6, NWS Wilmington, NC
NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 22, 1986, 7:10 PM EDT for Onslow County, North Carolina. It was in force for 50 min. 1 report 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
- Jul 22, 1986, 7:10 PM EDT (23:10 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 22, 1986, 8:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wilmington, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Onslow 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 7:10 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Onslow, 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
Cape Hatteras, NC (KHAT), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 181 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
- 2748 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 681 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 18 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 38 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KILM 222331 COR TORILM NCC133-230000- BULLETIN IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 710 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA...ONSLOW AT 710 THIS EVENING..ONSLOW COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED TREES DOWN AND WINDOWS BROKEN IN ONSLOW COUNTY OF SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF JACKSONVILLE NEAR STATE ROAD 53. WILMINGTON WEATHER RADAR ALSO SHOWED A VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM NEAR JACKSONVILLE. WITNESSES SIGHTED A TORNADO TOUCHING DOWN ONE MILE SOUTH OF ROUTE 53 NEAR COUNTY ROAD 1109 JUST AFTER 700 PM THIS EVENING AT THE DAMAGE SITE. THIS THUNDERSTORM IS CAUSING DAMAGING WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. THOUGH LITTLE MOVEMENT WAS NOTICED WITH THE STORM..SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. REPORT ALL SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING ISSUED AT 630 PM EDT IS STILL IN EFFECT FOR SAMPSON COUNTY UNTIL 730 THIS EVENING. PROSSER CORRECTION...WARNING TYPE
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Jul 22, 5:04 PM EDT, 2 hours 6 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 500 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1986 SCATTERED VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA. PEOPLE IN NEW HAVOVER AND BRUNSWICK COUNTIES SHOULD BE ALERT FOR VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..POSSIBLE STRONG GUSTY WIND AND HAIL. AT 445 THIS AFTERNOON A CLUSTER OF VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS COVERED A LARGE PORTION OF NEW HANOVER AND BRUNSWICK COUNTIES. ELSEWHERE SCATTERED VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN JONES AND CRAVEN COUNTIES IN THE CENTRAL COASTAL SECTION. ASLO SCATTERED VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COASTAL PLAINS. IN SOUTH CAROLINA A LARGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS COVERED THE SOUTH COASTAL SECTION AND EXTENDED TO MURRELLS INLET IN THE SOUTH COASTAL SECTION. MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED. DS
Special weather statement, Jul 22, 5:46 PM EDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPE HATTERAS NC 540 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1986 AT 430 PM EDT..THUNDERSTORMS CONTAINING HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES WERE MOVING FROM SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA INTO NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO HERTFORD...GATES AND CAMDEN COUNTIES. RESIDENTS IN NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING THE EARLY EVENING. HEAVY DOWNPOURS...GUSTY WINDS...AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO DEVELOPING OVER SECTIONS OF SOUTHEAST COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA...MAINLY BETWEEN NEW BERN AND WILMINGTON. ANOTHER AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS TO THE WEST OF ROCKEY MOUNT AND GOLDSBORO. OFFSHORE...RAIN AND ISOLATED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE ABOUT 10 TO 100 MILES OFF THE COAST OF THE OUTER BANKS. THE HEAVIER THUNDERSTORMS WERE" 30 TO 75 MILES OFFSHORE OF THE COAST BETWEEN CAPE LOOKOUT AND CAPE HATTERAS. MOVEMENT WAS EAST SOUTHEAST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR. BT
Special weather statement, Jul 22, 5:55 PM EDT, 1 hour 15 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 553 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1986 SCATTERED VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA. PEOPLE IN SAMPSON..DUPLIN..CRAVEN..PAMLICO..CARTERET..COLUMBUS.. BRUNSWICK AND NEW HANOVER COUNTIES SHOULD BE ALERT FOR HEAVY DOWNPOURS.. FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..POSSIBLE STRONG GUSTY WIND AND HAIL. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR FLOODING OF INTERSECTIONS AND LOW LYING ROADS. THE SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE SOME LOCAL FLOODING. AT 530 THIS AFTERNOON LARGE CLUSTERS OF VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER CRAVEN COUNTY IN THE CENTRAL COASTAL SECTION..OVER BRUNSWICK AND NEW HANOVER COUNTIES IN THE SOUTHERN COASTAL SECTION AND SAMPSON AND COLUMBUS COUNTIES IN THE SOUTHERN COASTAL PLAIN. SCATTERED VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COASTAL PLAINS. IN SOUTH CAROLINA THUNDERSTORMS COVERED THE SOUTH COASTA8L SECTION AND EXTENDED TO GEORGETOWN IN THE NORTH COASTAL SECTION. OFFSHORE A LARGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WERE 75 MILES EAST OF WILMINGTON. THE AREAS OF THUNDERSTORMS SHOWED LITTLE MOVEMENT BETWEEN 445 AND 530. DS
Special weather statement, Jul 22, 6:40 PM EDT, 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPE HATTERAS NC 640 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1986 AT 630 PM EDT..THUNDERSTORMS CONTAINING HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES WERE OVER NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA IN HALIFAX...HERTFORD..AND GATES COUNTIES. RESIDENTS IN NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING THE EARLY EVENING. HEAVY DOWNPOURS...GUSTY WINDS...AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO OVER SECTIONS OF SOUTHEAST COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA...MAINLY BETWEEN JACKSONVILLE AND BAYBORO. OFFSHORE...RAIN AND ISOLATED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE ABOUT k10 TO 100 MILES OFF THE COAST OF THE OUTER BANKS. THE HEAVIER THUNDERSTORMS WERE 10 TO 50 MILES OFF THE COAST BETWEEN CAPE LOOKOUT AND CAPE HATTERAS. MOVEMENT WAS EAST SOUTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR. BT
Local storm report, Jul 22, 6:47 PM EDT, 23 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
647 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1986
TIME EVENT
1838 EDT AT CLINTON IN SAMPSON COUNTY NC - POWER LINES BLOWN DOWN
1840 EDT ABOUT 2 MILES EAST OF SrPIVEYS CORNER IN NORTHERN SAMPSON
COUNTY - TREE BLOWN DOWN ON RURAL ROAD 1636
AHThe office that day
Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 6:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Craven, Jones | 51 min |
| Jul 22, 6:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Sampson | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes 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.