Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Wilmington, NC
NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 15, 1987, 12:40 PM EDT for New Hanover County, Pender 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
- Jul 15, 1987, 12:40 PM EDT (16:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 15, 1987, 1:40 PM EDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wilmington, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties 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
Cape Hatteras, NC (KHAT), launched 12:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 240 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1185 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 12 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 85 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KILM 151642 TORILM NCC129-141-151740- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1240 PM EDT WED JUL 15 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 140 PM EDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA... NEW HANOVER... PENDER ...AND ADJACENT WATERS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THAT HAS PRODUCED FUNNEL CLOUDS...LARGE HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS OVER NEW HANOVER AND PENDER COUNTIES IS MOVING EAST AROUND 25 MILES AN HOUR. THIS PATH WILL TAKE THE STORMS OFF THE COAST OF THESE COUNTIES DURING THE COMMING HOUR. 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. SMALL BOAT OPERATORS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO SAFE HARBOR IF CONDITIONS BECOME THREATENING. ALL MARINE INTERESTS IN THE PATH OF THIS WEATHER SHOULD TAKE EVASIVE ACTION AND PREPARE FOR ROUGH SEA CONDITIONS AND HIGH WINDS. SWANSON
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, 12:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender | 50 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.