Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 2, 1990Davidson County, Rowan County, North Carolina

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at May 2, 1990, 8:51 PM EDT for Davidson County, Rowan County, North Carolina. It was in force for 54 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 2, 1990, 8:51 PM EDT (00:51 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 1990, 9:45 PM EDT
In force: 54 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Davidson County, NC, Rowan 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
May 2, 9:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Davidson, 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 58 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 246 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 866 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 108 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 348 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGSO 030103 COR
TORGSO
NCC159-057-030145-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC
851 PM EDT WED MAY 2 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES

   IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
      EASTERN ROWAN...DAVIDSON

AT 845 PM RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER EASTERN ROWAN COUNTY
THAT MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO. A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED WITH THIS STORM
BY A STORM SPOTTER NEAR SALISBURY. THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

QUARTER TO GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED WITH THIS STORM ALSO.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IS IN
A BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...FIND SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS..PILLOWS..
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YO|UR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON MOBILE
HOMES FOR STRONG STRUCTURES.

 WHB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 2, 8:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Davidson	42 min
May 2, 8:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Rowan	43 min
May 2, 8:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Alexander	34 min
May 2, 9:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Davie, Iredell	64 min
May 2, 10:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Rowan	54 min
May 2, 10:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Davidson	66 min
May 2, 10:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Randolph	50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1990 Every tornado warning in 1990 Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.