Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Wilmington, NC

July 28, 1994Craven County, Pamlico County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 28, 1994, 6:49 PM EDT for Craven County, Pamlico County, North Carolina. It was in force for 41 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 28, 1994, 6:49 PM EDT (22:49 UTC)
Expired
Jul 28, 1994, 7:30 PM EDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Craven County, NC, Pamlico County, NC

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 39 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, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 1994-07-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1142 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, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 1994-07-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 128 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
1142 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
608 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KILM 282249
TORILM
NCC049-137-282330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
649 PM EDT THU JUL 28 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
 
   ...EASTERN CRAVEN COUNTY...WESTERN PAMLICO COUNTY
 
AT 645 PM EDT THE CRAVEN COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT REPORTED A TORNADO
JUST NORTH OF NEW BERN. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR
AND WILL CROSS THE NEUSE RIVER INTO PAMILCO COUNTY BETWEEN 7 AND 715 PM.
 
 
PEOPLE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
ACTION TO PROTECT THEIR LIVES. GO TO A vBASEMENT...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.
 
 
SQI
&

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, Jul 28, 2:32 PM EDT, 4 hours 17 minutes before
NCZ080-087-089-090-092>101-281935-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON  NC
232 PM EDT THU JUL 28 1994

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN ONSLOW COUNTY...

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT FOR
   EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS...

AT 225 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED SOUTHWEST OF RICHLAND.
THIS STORM WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS... SMALL HAIL AND
FREQUENT LIGHTNING.  THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT
35 TO 40 MPH.

IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF A
STORM APPROACHES.  MOTORISTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR REDUCED
VISIBILITIES DURING DOWNPOURS OF RAIN.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER UPDATES
Special weather statement, Jul 28, 2:34 PM EDT, 4 hours 15 minutes before
NCZ080-087-089-090-092>101-281935-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON  NC
232 PM EDT THU JUL 28 1994

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN ONSLOW COUNTY...

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT FOR
   EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS...

AT 225 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED SOUTHWEST OF RICHLAND.
THIS STORM WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS... SMALL HAIL AND
FREQUENT LIGHTNING.  THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT
35 TO 40 MPH.

IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF A
STORM APPROACHES.  MOTORISTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR REDUCED
VISIBILITIES DURING DOWNPOURS OF RAIN.

ST6AY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER UPDATES
Special weather statement, Jul 28, 3:23 PM EDT, 3 hours 26 minutes before
NCZ080-087-089-090-092>101-282025-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON  NC
323 PM EDT THU JUL 28 1994

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN CRAVEN AND ONSLOW COUNTIES...

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT FOR
   EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS...

AT 315 PM EDT...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED FROM NEAR
VANCEBORO TO THE WEST OF NEW BERN AND TO TOPSAIL BEACH.  THE STRONGEST
THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED BETWEEN VANCEBORO AND NEW BERN.  THE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 3 TO 40 MPH.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY
WINDS... HAIL... AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER UPDATES.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 27, 9:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMCraven, Pamlico62 min
Jul 28, 1:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMBladen40 min
Jul 28, 5:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMPender49 min
Jul 28, 5:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMOnslow50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994

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.