Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 5, NWS Wilmington, NC
NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Jun 9, 1988, 7:42 PM EDT for Onslow County, North Carolina. It was in force for 48 min. 2 reports 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
- Jun 9, 1988, 7:42 PM EDT (23:42 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 9, 1988, 8:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 48 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wilmington, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Onslow 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 7:50 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Onslow, NC | |
| Jun 9, 8:00 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Onslow, 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, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 181 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
- 125 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -72 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 875 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 57 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KILM 092342 TORILM NCC133-100030- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 742 PM EDT THU JUN 9 1988 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM EDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA... ONSLOW AT 735 PM A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC IN THE RICHLANDS AREA OF ONSLOW COUNTY. THE ACCOMPANYING SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN THE AREA WAS MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. 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. AH
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
Local storm report, Jun 9, 6:07 PM EDT, 1 hour 35 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
605 PM EDT THU JUN 9 1988
TIME EVENT
1800 EDT GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL NEAR SPIVEYS CORNER IN NORTHERN
SAMPSON COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA.Local storm report, Jun 9, 6:15 PM EDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
615 PM EDT THU JUN 9 1988
TIME EVENT
1813 EDT GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED AT DOVER AND AT FORT BARNWELL
IN NORTHERN CRAVEN COUNT4Y.Local storm report, Jun 9, 6:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 17 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
625 PM EDT THU JUN 9 1988
TIME EVENT
1822 EDT GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED FAISON IN NORTHWEST DUPLIN
COUNTY.Local storm report, Jun 9, 6:34 PM EDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
633 PM EDT THU JUN 9 1988
TIME EVENT
1826 EDT HAIL SIZE 3.5 INCHES ON BRIARWOOD LANE IN NEW BERN...CRAVEN
COUNTY...PUBLIC REPORTSpecial weather statement, Jun 9, 6:42 PM EDT, 1 hour before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPE HATTERAS NC
640 PM EDT THU JUN 9 1988
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM TONIGHT
FOR MOST OF NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA...
AT 630 PM EDT...THUNDERSTORMS MOVED INTO NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA
NEAR ELIZABETH CITY...IN THE ALBEMARLE SOUND NORTH OF COLUMBIA...AND
NEAR SWANQUARTER. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE INCLUDED WITHIN A WIDESPREAD
AREA OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT COVER MUCH OF SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA
AND EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED TO THE WEATHER OFFICE AT CAPE
HATTERAS WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA.
THE AREA OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WNAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.
BTSpecial weather statement, Jun 9, 7:20 PM EDT, 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPE HATTERAS NC 715 PM EDT THU JUN 9 1988 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE OUTER BANKS OF NORTH CAROLINA...FOR THE VILLIAGES OF HATTERAS FRISCO AND BUXTON UNTIL 800 PM EDT. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER THE PAMLICO SOUND JUST WEST OF HATTERAS ISLAND HAS SLOWED CONSIDERABLY DURING THE PAST HALF HOUR. MOVEMENT IS EAST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR. THIS MOVEMENT WILL TAKE THE THUNDERSTORM ACROSS THE ISLAND BY 745 PM EDT. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAINFALL.. AND POSSIBLE HAIL. MARINE INTERESTS ALONG HATTERAS ISLAND SHOULD MAKE THEIR VuESSELS READY FOR HEAVY WEATHER...OR HEAD FOR SAFE HARBOR IMMEDIATELY. JONES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 3:28 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Sampson | 42 min |
| Jun 9, 4:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Duplin | 58 min |
| Jun 9, 5:57 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Sampson | 63 min |
| Jun 9, 6:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Craven | 42 min |
| Jun 9, 6:21 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Duplin | 59 min |
| Jun 9, 6:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Beaufort, Pamlico | 63 min |
| Jun 9, 7:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Jones | 57 min |
| Jun 9, 7:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Onslow | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988
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.