Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Blacksburg, VA

March 10, 1992Davidson County, Forsyth County, North Carolina

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Mar 10, 1992, 11:11 PM EST for Davidson County, Forsyth County, North Carolina. It was in force for 49 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 10, 1992, 11:11 PM EST (04:11 UTC)
Expired
Mar 11, 1992, 12:00 AM EST
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Davidson County, NC, Forsyth County, NC

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 33 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 00:00Z on 1992-03-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 46 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1992-03-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 261 square meters per square second.1939587897117136156Sfc1 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
46 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
760 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
85 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
261 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
262 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 110411
TORGSO
NCC067-057-110500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC
1111 PM EST TUE MAR 10 1992

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1200 AM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
      FORSYTH...DAVIDSON

AT 1109 PM RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NORTHEAST OF
MOCKSVILLE.  THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 60 MPH.

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 YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON MOBILE
HOMES FOR STRONGER STRUCTURES.

 IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..YOU SHOULD GO TO A SAFE PLACE
 IMMEDIATELY.  WHEN IT IS SAFE..AESK YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFOREMENT
 AGENCY TO RELAY YOUR SEVERE WEATHER REPORT TO THE LOCAL NATIONAL
 WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

 GTR

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Mar 10, 8:48 PM EST, 2 hours 23 minutes before
VAZ008-009-013-014-015-016-110500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA
845 PM EST TUE MAR 10 1992

...WINTER RETURNING TONIGHT FOR THE ROANOKE VALLEY AND SURROUNDING
   COUNTIES...
...SNOW ADVISORY FOR THOSE VIRGINIA COUNTIES NORTH AND WEST
   OF ROANOKE OVERNIGHT...
...LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MARCHING EASTWARD ACROSS
   SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTES A NEARLY SOLID BAND OF
SHOWERS WITH A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE NEW RIVER VALLEY SOUTHWARD
INTO THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS. THE BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDED FROM HILLSVILLE IN CENTRAL CARROLL COUNTY NORTH ACROSS RADFORD
AND ON NORTH INTO WEST VIRGINIA...NEAR WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS. THE
STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED NEAR WILLIS IN SOUTHERN FLOYD COUNTY...
AND JUST NORTH OF NEWPORT IN GILES COUNTY.
.
THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. THE
BAND WILL CONTINUE MOVING EASTWARD AND WILL BE MOVING ACROSS THE
ROANOKE VALLEY BY 915 PM.

TO THE WEST OF THIS ACTIVITY...A STRONG COLD FRONT CONTINUES ITS
TRANSIT THROUGH THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS. THE FRONT MOVED THROUGH
THE BRISTOL AREA AROUND 700 PM. THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EAST OF
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY BY 1000 PM. ALONG WITH FRONTAL PASSAGE...STRONG
AND GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE REGION WITH RAPIDLY
FALLING TEMPERATURES.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL STATION FOR FURTHER UPDATES
ON THIS SPRING TO WINTER WEATHER EPISODE.

CACCIAPAGLIA
Special weather statement, Mar 10, 11:04 PM EST, 7 minutes before
VAZ008-009-013-014-015-016-110700-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA
1100 PM EST TUE MAR 10 1992

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA UNTIL 4 AM
   WEDNESDAY MORNING...

...SNOW ADVISORY FOR THOSE VIRGINIA COUNTIES NORTH AND WEST
   OF ROANOKE OVERNIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTH
CENTRAL VIRGINIA. THE WATCH AREA CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES.
AMHERST...APPOMATTOX...CAMPBELL...HALIFAX...BEDFORD...FRANKLIN...
PITTSYLVAINIA... AND HENRY. THE INDEPEDENT CITIES OF BEDFORD...DANVILLE
...LYNCHBURG...MARTINSVILLE AND SOUTH BOSTON.

A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS DETECTED ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE
MOUNTAINS FROM NEAR BUENA VISTA SOUTH TO WESTERN HENRY COUNTY.
AS THE LINE OF STORMS CONTINUE EASTWARD INTO THE PIEDMONT...STRONG
GUSTY WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND DANGEROUS TORNADOES MAY BE SPAWNED
BY THE STRONG WEATHER SYSTEM MOVING THROUGH THE WATCH AREA.

REPEAT...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 400 AM EST.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL STATION FOR FURTHER UPDATES
OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

CACCIAPAGLIA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 10, 10:22 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKIredell38 min
Mar 10, 10:29 PM ESTTornado WarningRNKIredell31 min
Mar 10, 10:47 PM ESTTornado WarningRNKDavie, Rowan43 min
Mar 10, 11:12 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKStokes33 min
Mar 10, 11:29 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKRandolph46 min
Mar 10, 11:54 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRNKGuilford36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1992Every tornado warning in 1992Tornadoes in 1992

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.