Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Raleigh, NC

August 20, 1986Johnston County, Wilson County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Aug 20, 1986, 12:57 PM EDT for Johnston County, Wilson County, North Carolina. It was in force for 63 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
Aug 20, 1986, 12:57 PM EDT (16:57 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 1986, 2:00 PM EDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Johnston County, NC, Wilson 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
Aug 20, 1:10 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Johnston, 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, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 242 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 201658
TORRDU
NCC101-195-201800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM NC
1257 PM EDT WED AUG 20 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 200 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

NORTH CAROLINA...EASTERN JOHNSTON AND WESTERN WILSON

AT 1255PM A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS SIGHTED SOUTHWEST OF PINE LEVEL IN
EAST CENTRAL JOHNSTON COUNTY MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST ABOUT
20 MPH.  THIS FUNNEL CLOUD  MAY BECOME A TORNADO.

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

JMP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 10:20 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHDurham100 min
Aug 20, 11:10 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHDurham, Wake3 hr
Aug 20, 1:13 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHGreene, Wayne62 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.