Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC

May 24, 1988Tyrrell County, North Carolina

NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC issued this tornado warning at May 24, 1988, 8:54 PM EDT for Tyrrell County, North Carolina. It was in force for 56 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
May 24, 1988, 8:54 PM EDT (00:54 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 1988, 9:50 PM EDT
In force
56 min
Issued by
NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Tyrrell 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
May 24, 8:55 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 77Tyrrell, 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 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 90 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, Cape Hatteras, NC at 00:00Z on 1988-05-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 24 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, Cape Hatteras, NC at 00:00Z on 1988-05-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
24 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-261 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1887 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
180 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 KHAT 250054
TORHAT
NCC177-250150-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPE HATTERAS NC
854 PM EDT TUE MAY 24 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A 
TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 950 PM EDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF
 
NORTH CAROLINA... WESTERN TYRRELL
                                                                         
A TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND AT CLOUMBIA AND CRESWELL. 
 
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.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 8:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMHXMartin60 min
May 24, 9:07 PM EDTTornado WarningMHXBertie, Hertford63 min
May 24, 9:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMHXDare28 min
May 25, 5:14 PM EDTTornado WarningMHXHyde46 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.