Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Raleigh, NC

August 27, 1986Orange County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Aug 27, 1986, 3:04 PM EDT for Orange County, North Carolina. It was in force for 41 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 27, 1986, 3:04 PM EDT (19:04 UTC)
Expired
Aug 27, 1986, 3:45 PM EDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Orange 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 27, 3:19 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Orange, 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, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 70 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 1986-08-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 585 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 1986-08-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 85 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
585 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-63 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
749 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
84 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KRDU 271904
TORRDU
NCC135-272000-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
304 PM EDT WED AUG 27 1986
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 400 PM EDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF
 
NORTH CAROLINA... SOUTHERN ORANGE
 
AT 3PM...RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO JUST NORTH OF HIGHWAY 54 IN SOUTHWEST
ORANGE COUNTY. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL MOVE OVER
OR NEAR CHAPEL HILL.
 
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.
 
LG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 27, 2:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHOrange61 min
Aug 27, 3:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDurham57 min
Aug 27, 4:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHChatham58 min
Aug 27, 4:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHFranklin68 min
Aug 27, 6:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHJohnston64 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.