Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS Raleigh, NC

September 6, 1996Franklin County, Nash County, Wake County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this flash flood warning at Sep 6, 1996, 12:06 AM EDT for Franklin County, Nash County, Wake County, North Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 6, 1996, 12:06 AM EDT (04:06 UTC)
Expired
Sep 6, 1996, 6:15 AM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Franklin County, NC, Nash County, NC, Wake County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:07 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 144 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 1996-09-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 220 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 1996-09-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 79 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
220 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
548 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
109 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KRDU 060408
FFWRDU
NCC069-183-127-195-061015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM NC
1206 AM EDT FRI SEP 6 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH/DURHAM HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
 
   ...FRANKLIN COUNTY...WAKE COUNTY
 
IN NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA
 
   ...NASH COUNTY...WILSON COUNTY
 
AT 1155 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAINFALL
OVER FRANKLIN...NASH...WAKE AND WILSON COUNTIES. THE HEAVY RAIN WILL
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AS HURRICANE FRAN MOVES NORTHWARD.
 
THE RAINFALL WILL BE HEAVY ENOUGH TO PRODUCE FLOODING DURING THE
NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.
 
FLOOD WATERS ARE HARDER TO SEE AT NIGHT AND MOST FLASH FLOOD
FATALITIES OCCUR AT NIGHT.  AVOID DRIVING ACROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS.
WATER TWO FEET DEEP CAN FLOAT MOST CARS OFF THE ROAD.  REPORT
FLOODING TvO LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS IMMEDIATELY.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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, Sep 5, 6:35 PM EDT, 5 hours 31 minutes before
NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-060400-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
607 PM EDT THU SEP 5 1996

...HURRICANE FRAN TO IMPACT CENTRAL EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA...

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT SUMMARIZES THE ASSORTMENT OF WATCHES AND
WARNINGS NOW IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA... WITHIN THE
SERVICE AREA OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR AREAS EAST OF AND
INCLUDING PERSON...ORANGE...CHATHAM...MOORE...AND RICHMOND COUNTIES.
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ROXBORO...HILLSBOROUGH...SILER CITY...
SOUTHERN PINES...AND ROCKINGHAM AND POINTS EAST.  THE TORNADO WATCH MAY
BE EXTENDED LATER TONIGHT FOR PORTIONS OF THE AREA DEPENDING ON THE
MOVEMENT OF FRAN.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT AND FRIDAY FOR THE
ENTIRE AREA.  THE GREATEST AMOUNTS OF RAIN...PERHAPS 10 INCHES AND
LOCALLY MORE...ARE APT TO FALL NEAR AND JUST TO THE RIGHT OF THE CENTER
OF FRAN...IN THE COASTAL PLAIN AND NORTHEAST PIEDMONT...WITH LESSER
AMOUNTS TO THE WEST.

AN INLAND HIGH WIND WARNING FOR HURRICANE FORCE WINDS IS IN EFFECT FOR
THE SANDHILLS AND SOUTHERN COASTAL PLAIN TONIGHT.  THIS INCLUDES THE
CITIES OF FAYETTEVILLE...SOUTHERN PINES...ROCKINGHAM...SANFORD...
BENSON AND CLINTON.

AN INLAND HIGH WIND WARNING FOR HURRICANE FORCE WIND GUSTS LATE TONIGHT
AND EARLY FRIDAY MORNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHEAST PIEDMONT AND
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COASTAL PLAIN.  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF
BURLINGTON... HILLSBOROUGH...ROXBORO...PITTSBORO...DURHAM...CHAPEL
HILL...RALEIGH... HENDERSON...ROANOKE RAPIDS...ROCKY MOUNT...WILSON...
SMITHFIELD... GOLDSBORO...AND TARBORO. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE IN
EXCESS OF 74 MILES PER HOUR.

A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR SUSTAINED WINDS EXCEEDING 40 MPH OR GUSTS
EXCEEDING 58 MPH IS IN EFFECT FOR OTHER PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN AND
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT.  THIS INCLUDES THE GREENSBORO TRIAD AREA...
ASHEB~ORO...ALBEMARLE AND WADESBORO.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TELEVISION OR RADIO...OR OTHER
LOCAL MEDIA FOR LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION CONCERNING HURRICANE FRAN.

RFG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 5, 8:33 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHWayne6 hr
Sep 5, 10:38 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHCumberland6 hr
Sep 5, 11:51 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHEdgecombe6 hr
Sep 6, 12:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHJohnston6 hr
Sep 6, 12:06 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHWilson6 hr
Sep 6, 1:06 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHWake6 hr
Sep 6, 2:42 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHDurham, Granville, Vance5 hr
Sep 6, 2:42 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHAlamance, Chatham, Orange5 hr
Sep 6, 6:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHWake6 hr
Sep 6, 8:12 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHDurham5 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in North Carolina, 1996Every flash flood warning 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.