Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1995
Tornado Warning 16, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1995, 11:17 PM EDT for Graham County, North Carolina. It was in force for 43 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 18, 1995, 11:17 PM EDT (03:17 UTC)
- Expired
- May 19, 1995, 12:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 43 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Graham County, NC
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:18 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 228 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
- 1579 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -36 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1210 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 152 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 243 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.4
- Supercell composite
- 8.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KAVL 190319 TORAVL NCC075-190400- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC 1117 PM EDT THU MAY 18 1995 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ASHEVILLE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA ...GRAHAM COUNTY AT 11:10 DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN MONROE COUNTY EASTERN TENNESSEE MOVING INTO GRAHAM COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA. THIS STORM WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH AND HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING SEVERE WEATHER. PEOPLE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO PROTECT THEIR LIVES. GO TO A BASEMENT...THE CENTER OF BUNILDINGS...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.
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, May 18, 7:26 PM EDT, 3 hours 51 minutes before
SCZ001>008-010>013-019-190200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC 725 PM EST THU MAY 18 1995 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE IN THE UPSTATE... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING THIS EVENING FROM NORTHERN ALABAMA TO CENTRAL TENNESSEE. THIS ACTIVITY WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT ABOUT 30 MPH. WARM MOIST AIR OVER THE CAROLINAS WILL PROVIDE A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT...ESPECIALLY LATE THIS EVENING. ANY ACTIVITY BEGINING LATE THIS EVENING WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY MORNING FRIDAY. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS SHOULD PREPARE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER...AND STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD ANTICIPATE ACTIVITION. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TV...OR LOCAL RADIO FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS DEVLOPING SITUATION. GAR/GSP
Special weather statement, May 18, 9:10 PM EDT, 2 hours 7 minutes before
NCZ060-061-058-051-190145-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
9:10 PM EDT THU MAY 18 1995
... TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA TILL
MIDNIGHT...
AT 9:05 PM EDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER
EASTERN TENNESSEE AND NORTHERN GEORGIA. MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS WAS TO
THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO THE
NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES OF GRAHAM...CHEROKEE...SWAIN...AND CLAY
WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR.
BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...HAIL AND GUSTY
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE.
IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SPOTTED IN YOUR AREA... TAKE SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PA>SSED.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL TV OR RADIO FOR THE
LATER STATMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
SMSpecial weather statement, May 18, 9:18 PM EDT, 1 hour 59 minutes before
NCZ060-061-058-051-190145-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
9:10 PM EDT THU MAY 18 1995
... TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA TILL
MIDNIGHT...
AT 9:05 PM EDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER
EASTERN TENNESSEE AND NORTHERN GEORGIA. MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS WAS TO
THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO THE
NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES OF GRAHAM...CHEROKEE...SWAIN...AND CLAY
WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR.
BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...HAIL AND GUSTY
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE.
IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SPOTTED IN YOUR AREA... TAKE SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PAbSSED.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL TV OR RADIO FOR THE
LATER STATMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
SMThe office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 9:12 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cherokee | 63 min |
| May 18, 10:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cherokee, Clay | 67 min |
| May 18, 11:07 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Jackson | 68 min |
| May 18, 11:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Swain | 68 min |
| May 19, 12:09 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Haywood, Madison | 66 min |
| May 19, 12:44 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Graham, Swain | 61 min |
| May 19, 1:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Gaston | 43 min |
| May 19, 2:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 31 min |
| May 19, 2:39 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cabarrus | 36 min |
| May 19, 3:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 37 min |
| May 19, 3:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Union | 54 min |
| May 19, 4:05 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 40 min |
| May 19, 4:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Union | 53 min |
| May 19, 5:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 37 min |
| May 19, 5:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Union | 55 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.