Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1994
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Raleigh, NC
NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Mar 27, 1994, 7:40 PM EST for Franklin County, North Carolina. It was in force for 35 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 27, 1994, 7:40 PM EST (00:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 27, 1994, 8:15 PM EST
- In force
- 35 min
- Issued by
- NWS Raleigh, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Franklin County, NC
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 145 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 289 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -48 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 754 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 71 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 615 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 772 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCLT 280039 TORCLT NCC069-280115- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC 740 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLOTTE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 PM EST FOR EVERYONE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WEST NORTH CAROLINA ...LINCOLN COUNTY AT 740 PM WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A TORNADO PRODUCING STORM IN WESTERN LINCOLN COUNTY. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH TOWARD LINCOLNTON... JOHNSTOWN... AND IRON STATION. TORNADOES WHICH OCCUR AFTER DARK ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS. GET TO A PLACE OF SAFETY NOW. STAY AWAY FROM DOORS AND WINDOWS. GET OUT OF MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES. IF DAMAGE OCCURS NEATR YOU...DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WALK AROUND IN THE DARK. THERE MAY BE DOWNED POWER LINES AND OTHER HAZARDS THAT CANNOT BE SEEN. GK
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 27, 2:02 PM EST, 5 hours 38 minutes before
NCZ007>012-024>028-040>044-075>079-085-086-088-091-272000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM, NC 200 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN OVER EDGECOMBE AND EASTERN WILSON COUNTIES IN THE COASTAL PLAIN... AT 155 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS OVER EDGECOMBE AND EASTERN WILSON COUNTIES IN THE COASTAL PLAIN. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING RAPIDLY EAST AT 50 MPH... AND MAY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN AS THEY CROSS EDGECOMBE COUNTY AND MOVE INTO PITT AND GREENE COUNTIES BY 230 PM. IF A THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES...SEEK SAFE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. IF DRIVING...DO NOT XDRIVE THROUGH AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD... AND REDUCE YOUR SPEED DURING PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN. LISTEN TO LOCAL RADIO..TV..OR WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. . HARTFIELD
Special weather statement, Mar 27, 5:23 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before
NCZ036-038-039-057-272315 SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC 520 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 9:00 PM EST FOR IREDELL...ROWAN... DAVIDSON AND RANDOLPH COUNTIES IN THE NORTHWEST PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA... AT 515 PM EST...RADAR SHOWED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM MOVING THROUGH RUTHERFORD AND CLEVELAND COUNTIES...ALONG THE NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA BORDER WEST OF CHARLOTTE. THIS THUNDERSTORM HAS PRODUCED TORNADOS FROM NORTHWESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA THROUGH SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA DURING THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH...AND MAY APPROACH IREDELL COUNTY BY 6:15 PM...AND ROWAN COUNTY BY 6:30 PM EST. FARTHER SOUTHWEST...ADDITIONAL SEVERE AND POSSIBLY TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING THROUGH NORTHWESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA TOWARD THE NORTHEAST...AND THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CROSS INTO SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA SHORTLY. THIS IS A DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION. PERSONS IN AND NEAR IREDELL... ROWAN...DAVIDSON AND RANDOLPH COUNTIES SHOULD PREPARE NOW FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF TORNADOS DURING THIS EVENING. STAY TUNED TO LOCAL TELEVISION OR RADIO STATIONS...OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...( FOR LATEST INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. BE READY TO TAKE SHELTER QUICKLY TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE IF A WARNING IS ISSUED. SR
Local storm report, Mar 27, 7:27 PM EST, 13 minutes before
STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC 725 PM EST SUN MAR 28 1994 ATTN SELS... 720 PM EST TREES DOWN OVER MOBILE HOMES IN SOUTHWEST RANDOLPH COUNTY JUST NORTHEAST ACROSS THE COUNTY LINE FROM TOUCHDOWNS IN DAVIDSON COUNTY RBN
Local storm report, Mar 27, 7:31 PM EST, 9 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC
729 PM EST SUN MAR 28 1994
ATTN SELS...
651 PM EST SPOTTER IN ROWAN CO REPORTED POSSIBLE WALL CLOUD...BUT COULD
NOT DETERMINE IF IT WAS ROTATING DUE TO DARKNESS.
659 PM EST DAVIDSON CO REPORTED TORNADO ON THE GROUND IN THE DENTON
AREA...UPDATED REPORT MINUTES LATER HAD TWO TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS
IN THE AREA.
722 PM EST SKYWARN SPOTTER REPORTED TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN I.N DAVIDSON
COUNTY NEAR HIGH ROCK LAKE.
GTRSpecial weather statement, Mar 27, 7:37 PM EST, 3 minutes before
NCZALL-280200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM NC 723 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994 AT 720 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS SHOWING A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN RANDOLPH COUNTY. THIS STORM HAS PRODUCED NUMEROUS TORNADOES...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST NEAR 45 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE MOVING INTO NORTH CHATHAM AND ORANGE COUNTY BY 8 PM. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THISx STORM SHOULD BE READY TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TV AND LOCAL RADIO FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND/OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. JC
The office that day
Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 3:02 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Lenoir | 28 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.