Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 55, NWS Blacksburg, VA

August 16, 1990Davidson County, Guilford County, Randolph County, North Carolina

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 16, 1990, 2:13 PM EDT for Davidson County, Guilford County, Randolph County, North Carolina. It was in force for 62 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 16, 1990, 2:13 PM EDT (18:13 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1990, 3:15 PM EDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Davidson County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Randolph 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 12:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 25 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 12:00Z on 1990-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1735 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 12:00Z on 1990-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -7 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1735 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
697 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGSO 161813
SVRGSO
NCC081-057-151-161915-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC
213 PM EDT THU AUG 16 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 315 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
      SOUTHERN GUILFORD...NORTHERN DAVIDSON...NORTHERN RANDOLPH

AT 210 PM RADAR SHOWED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER EXTREME NORTHERN
DAVIDSON COUNTY TO NEAR HIGH POINT MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT
ABOUT 15 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN AN AREA THREATENED BY THE STORM..GO TO A REINFORCED
SHELTER AND PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WINDS..LARGE HAIL..VERY HEAVY
DOWNPOURS AND FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..GO TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY
AND TAKE SHELTER.  ASK YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF OR POLICE TO RELAY YOUR
SEVERE WEATHER REPORT TO THE LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

 RBN

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, Aug 16, 1:09 PM EDT, 1 hour 4 minutes before
VAZALL-161800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA
100 PM EDT THU AUG 16 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER PORTIONS OF VIRGINIA...INCLUDING THE
    SOUTHWEST SECTOR...
OVER THE NOON HOUR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BEGAN TO POP UP
OVER SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...MOSTLY FROM JUST SOUTHEAST OF ROANOKE INTO
FRANKLIN...EASTERN PATRICK...PULASKI AND HENRY COUNTIES EXTENDING
ACROSS THE STATE LINE INTO NORTH CAROLINA.

WEATHER RADAR AND AUTOMATED RAIN GAGES SHOWED THAT HEAVIEST RAINS WERE
OVER PATRICK COUNTY...WHERE AMOUNTS OF OVER FOUR-TENTHS OF AN INCH WERE
RECORDED IN A 15 MINUTE PERIOD.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING SLOWLY THIS AFTERNOON IN AN EAST AND
SOUTHEAST DIRECTION.    PEOPLE SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR DOWNPOURS THAT
WILL POND WATER AND CAUSE DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS. THE PRIMARY
THREAT IS EXPECTED TO BE EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGES. END/MCINTOS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 12:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKAlamance62 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990

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.