Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 3, NWS Wilmington, NC
NWS Wilmington, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 21, 1989, 1:25 PM EST for New Hanover County, North Carolina. It was in force for 35 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
- Feb 21, 1989, 1:25 PM EST (18:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 1989, 2:00 PM EST
- In force
- 35 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wilmington, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
County New Hanover 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 1:45 PM EST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | 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, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 244 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
- 701 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 648 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 42 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 185 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 246 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 4.3
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 severe thunderstorm 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, Feb 21, 11:08 AM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1110 AM EST TUE FEB 21 1989 A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA AND MUCH OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA UNTIL 4 PM. AT 1030 THIS TUESDAY MORNING...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY PRECIPITATION EXTENDED FROM THE NORTH PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA EAST OF GREENSBORO THROUGH THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF SOUTH CAROLINA INTO SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA. WIND DAMAGE AND TORNADOES WERE REPORTED WITH THIS LINE AROUND 10 OCLOCK THIS MORNING. THE STORMS WERE MOVING RAPIDLY NORTHEAST ABOUT 55 MILES AN HOUR. PERSONS IN ROBESON COUNTY SHOULD BE ALERT FOR STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING WITHI THIS THUNDERSTORM LINE AROUND NOON TO ONE OCLOCK.
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 11:49 AM EST, 1 hour 36 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPE HATTERAS NC 1145 AM EST TUE FEB 21 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA... AT 1135 AM EST...WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAINSHOWERS WERE OCCURRING FROM CAPE LOOKOUT...NORTH...TO 10 MILES NORTH OF SWAN QUARTER. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE SITUATED FROM FAYETTEVILLE...NORTH...TO PERSON COUNTY. THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE TORNADOES AS WELL AS STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...TAKE THE APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. DCH
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 11:57 AM EST, 1 hour 28 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1155 AM EST TUE FEB 21 1989 A TORNATO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA UNTIL 4 PM. AT 1130 THIS FORENOON...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY PRECIPITATION EXTENDED THROUGH THE SOUTH COASTAL PLAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA WEST AND NORTHWEST OF WILMINGTON. NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED YET WITH THE LINE AFTER IT PASSED THROUGH ROBESON COUNTY. PERSONS IN SAMPSON...EAST BLADEN...COLUMBUS AND DUPLIN COUNTIES SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR STRONG GUSTY WINDS WITH THE THUNDERSTORM LINE UNTIL L OCLOCK THIS AFTERNOON.
Local storm report, Feb 21, 12:58 PM EST, 27 minutes before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 12:04 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Duplin, Sampson | 56 min |
| Feb 21, 12:42 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Columbus, Pender | 63 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1989Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1989
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.