Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Raleigh, NC

May 21, 1986Wayne County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at May 21, 1986, 11:55 AM EDT for Wayne County, North Carolina. It was in force for 60 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
May 21, 1986, 11:55 AM EDT (15:55 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 1986, 12:55 PM EDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Wayne 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 21, 12:35 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Wayne, 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 189 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 1986-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 1986-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 120 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1148 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
166 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KRDU 211602 COR
TORRDU
NCC191-061-211555-

BULLETIN..EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTION FOR TIME

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1155 AM EDT WED MAY 21 1986

A..THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 1255 PM FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

EAST CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...WAYNE COUNTY.
SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA...DUPLIN COUNTY.

B..AT 1150 PM A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY RADAR IN NORTHERN DUPLIN COUNTY
MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST.


THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...IF YOU ARE NEAR ITS PATH...GET OUT OF
YOUR CAR OR MOBILE HOME AND SEEK SHELTER IN A SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURE
CLOSE TO YOU. IN A BUILDING...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. A B.ASEMENT IS BEST. COVER YOUR HEAD. REPORT ANY SEVERE
WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.


1602/MES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 5:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHLenoir, Wayne60 min
May 21, 7:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHWayne, Wilson57 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.