Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC

March 29, 1991Gates County, Hertford County, North Carolina

NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC issued this tornado warning at Mar 29, 1991, 5:08 PM EST for Gates County, Hertford County, North Carolina. It was in force for 37 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
Mar 29, 1991, 5:08 PM EST (22:08 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 1991, 5:45 PM EST
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Gates County, NC, Hertford County, NC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 29, 5:30 PM ESTTornado F1Hertford, 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, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 174 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 12:00Z on 1991-03-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 754 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 12:00Z on 1991-03-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 163 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
754 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
582 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
163 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
202 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
3.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHAT 292208
TORHAT
NCC073-091-292300-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPE HATTERAS NC
508 PM EST FRI MAR 29 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CAPE HATTERAS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA
 
   ...GATES COUNTY...HERTFORD COUNTY
 
A VERY DANGEROUS STORM WITH A HISTORY OF TORNADO TOUCH DOWNS WAS
OBSERVED IN NORTHERN HERTFORD COUNTY MOVING TOWARD GATES COUNTY.
THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR.
 
 
 
PEOPLE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
ACTION TO PROTECT THEIR LIVES. GO TO A BASEMENT...THE CENTER OF
BUILDINGS...COVER YOUR HEAD. DO NOT GO NEAR DOORS OR WINDOWS. GET
OUT OF MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES. GET INTO A STURDY BUILDING OR A
DITCH.
 
DEMAURICE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 29, 10:29 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMHXCamden46 min
Mar 29, 11:09 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMHXWashington36 min
Mar 29, 5:48 PM ESTTornado WarningMHXBertie42 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991

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.