Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Blacksburg, VA

July 2, 1987Forsyth County, North Carolina

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Jul 2, 1987, 1:51 AM EDT for Forsyth County, North Carolina. It was in force for 49 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 2, 1987, 1:51 AM EDT (05:51 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 1987, 2:40 AM EDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

County Forsyth County, NC

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 32 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 00:00Z on 1987-07-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 591 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1987-07-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 48 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
591 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1060 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KRDU 020601 COR
TORGSO
NCC067-020650-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC
151 AM EDT THU JUL 2 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 250 AM EDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

NORTH CAROLINA... FORSYTH

AT 140 AM EDT WINSTOM-SALEM POLICE SIGHTED A FUNNEL CLOUD IN THE
SOUTHEAST PART OF THE CITY OF WINSTON SALEM. THE REPORTED MOVEMENT
OF THE FUNNEL CLOUD WAS TOWARD THE NORTHWEST.

RESIDENTS SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN STORM CELLARS AND BASEMENTS.
IF NIETHER IS AVAILABLE GO TO THE INTERIOR OF THE LOWEST FLOOR.
A CLOSET OR BATHROOM IS BEST. DO NOT OPEN WINDOWS..STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS AND DOORS AND PROTECT YOUR HEAD AND CHEST.

IF YOU ARE TRAPPED OUTDOORS..GO TO A DITCH OR LOW AREA..
AND GET AS LOW AS POSSIBLE. REMEMBER TO PROTECT YOUR HEAD AND CHEST..
MOST FATALITIES ARE CAUSED BY FLYING DEBRIS. IF YOU ARE IN A
LOW LYING AREA BE ALERT FOR FLOODING.

RJD
CORRECTED TO CHANGE POLICE SIGHTED A FUNNEL CLOUD

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.