Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 1986

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Raleigh, NC

August 20, 1986Durham County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this flash flood warning at Aug 20, 1986, 10:20 AM EDT for Durham County, North Carolina. It was in force for 100 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 20, 1986, 10:20 AM EDT (14:20 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 1986, 12:00 PM EDT
In force
100 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Durham County, NC

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Cape Hatteras, NC (KHAT), launched 12:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 317 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, Cape Hatteras, NC at 12:00Z on 1986-08-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 336 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, Cape Hatteras, NC at 12:00Z on 1986-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 52 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
336 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
547 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KRDU 201422
FFWRDU
NCC063-201600-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM NC
1020 AM EDT WED AUG 20 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FLOOD WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL NOON FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

NORTH CAROLINA...DURHAM

AT 1015 AM HEAVY RAIN WAS SHOWN BY RADAR OVER DURHAM COUNTY AND
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED.  RADAR SHOWS THAT
ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN IS MOVING NORTHWARD TOWARD THE AREA AND
MORE RAIN WILL CAUSE ADDITIONAL FLOODING.

A FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT STREAMS IN THE WARNING AREA ARE RISING
RAPIDLY. PEOPLE LIVING NEAR STREAMS AND IN AREAS PRONE TO FAST RISING
WATER SHOULD BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE FLOODING AND TAKE ALL NECESSARY
PRECAUTIONS.

YOU ARE REMINDED THAT MANY FLOOD RELATED DEATHS ARE DUE TO MOTORISTS
ATTEMPTING TO CROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS..BRIDGES..AND UNDERPASSES...AND
DUE TO CHILDREN PLAYING NEAR FLOODED STREAMS OR STORM DRAINSu.

LISTEN TO LOCAL RADIO..TV..OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER
INFORMATION.  THE NEXT STATEMENT ON THIS FLOOD SITUATION WILL BE
ISSUED AT 11 AM.

JMP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 11:10 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHDurham, Wake3 hr
Aug 20, 12:57 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHJohnston, Wilson63 min
Aug 20, 1:13 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHGreene, Wayne62 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in North Carolina, 1986Every flash flood 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.