Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC

September 17, 1996Martin County, North Carolina

NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC issued this tornado warning at Sep 17, 1996, 3:41 AM EDT for Martin County, North Carolina. It was in force for 34 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
Sep 17, 1996, 3:41 AM EDT (07:41 UTC)
Expired
Sep 17, 1996, 4:15 AM EDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Martin County, NC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 17, 4:00 AM EDTThunderstorm WindRobersonville, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 120 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 00:00Z on 1996-09-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 266 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 00:00Z on 1996-09-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 178 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
266 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
802 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
250 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHAT 170746 COR
TORMHX
NCC117-170815-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTED FOR PATHCAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT NC
341 AM EDT TUE SEP 17 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEWPORT HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 415 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

   ...MARTIN COUNTY

AT 340 AM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICTED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM
10 MILES SOUTH OF WILLIAMSTON IN MARTIN COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS
WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL AFFECT THE CITY OF
JAMESVILLE AROUND 355 AM. PERSONS IN MARTIN COUNTY SHOULD TAKE
COVER IMMEDIATELY.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

RVT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 10:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMHXDuplin33 min
Sep 16, 11:46 PM EDTTornado WarningMHXLenoir29 min
Sep 17, 12:20 AM EDTTornado WarningMHXCraven, Pitt40 min
Sep 17, 12:50 AM EDTTornado WarningMHXBeaufort40 min
Sep 17, 1:26 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMHXLenoir4 hr
Sep 17, 1:55 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMHXHyde50 min
Sep 17, 3:18 AM EDTTornado WarningMHXPitt42 min
Sep 17, 3:35 AM EDTTornado WarningMHXDare25 min
Sep 17, 6:38 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMHXCarteret52 min
Sep 17, 8:07 AM EDTTornado WarningMHXCarteret38 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996

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.