Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Wilmington, NC
NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 15, 1987, 12:10 PM EDT for Brunswick County, New Hanover County, Pender 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 15, 1987, 12:10 PM EDT (16:10 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 15, 1987, 1:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wilmington, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Brunswick County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Pender 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 15, 12:46 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | New Hanover, 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
Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 239 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
- 1500 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -55 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1066 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 57 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 54 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
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 15, 11:02 AM EDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1055 AM EDT WED JUL 15 1987 THUNDERSTORMS ARE STRENTHING IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA. AT 1035 THIS MORNING...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL WERE OVER THE SOUTHERN COASTAL COUNTIES OF ROBESON...COLUMBUS AND BLADEN. A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN CHADBOURN REPORTED SOME SMALL HAIL AS A THUNDERSTORM MOVED THROUGH THE CITY. THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE ALSO NOTED NORTH OF FAYETTEVILLE NEAR DUNN AND SOUTH OF KINSTON. IN SOUTH CAROLINA A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED IN NORTHERN GEORGETOWN COUNTY. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO LOCATED OVER THE COASTAL AND OFFSHORE WATERS OF BOTH CAROLINAS. THE STRONGERST THUNDERSTORMS WERE 100 MILES EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF CAPE FEAR. < THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AROUND 25 MILES AN HOUR. PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA &SHOULD SEEK SAFE SHELTER IF THREATING WEATHER APPROCHES. GLS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 11:30 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen, Columbus, Pender | 60 min |
| Jul 15, 11:54 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 51 min |
| Jul 15, 12:40 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | New Hanover, Pender | 60 min |
| Jul 15, 3:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick | 64 min |
| Jul 15, 4:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 45 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes in 1987
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.