Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 27, NWS Wilmington, NC

April 23, 1997New Hanover County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 23, 1997, 12:14 AM EDT for New Hanover County, North Carolina. It was in force for 46 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
Apr 23, 1997, 12:14 AM EDT (04:14 UTC)
Expired
Apr 23, 1997, 1:00 AM EDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Whole counties

County New Hanover County, NC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 23, 12:21 AM EDTHail 0.88Carolina Beach, NCHAIL REPORTS INCLUDE .75 INCH 1.5 MILES WEST OF MONKEY JUNCTION AND .88 INCH AT CAROLINA BEACH

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, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 112 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 1997-04-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 1997-04-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 107 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
654 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
107 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
272 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KILM 230414 RRA
SVRILM
NCC129-NCZ505-230500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
1214 AM EDT WED APR 23 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA

   ...NEW HANOVER
 
AT 1209 AM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY WILMINGTON
DOPPLER RADAR 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ORTON PLANTATION MOVING EAST
NORTHEAST AT 51 MPH.

THIS STORM CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE VICINITY OF...
        KURE BEACH              BY 1217 AM EDT
        FORT FISHER             BY 1217 AM EDT
        CAROLINA BEACH          BY 1218 AM EDT
        MONKEY JUNCTION         BY 1223 AM EDT
        MASONBORO               BY 1227 AM EDT
        WILMINGTON              BY 1228 AM EDT
        WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH      BY 1232 AM EDT
        OGDEN                   BY 1234 AM EDT



THIS THUNDERSTORM HAS A HISTORY OF DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.  FOR YOUR
PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR
HOME OR BUSINESS.

HAWKINS

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 22, 9:02 PM EDT, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 22, 9:02 PM EDT, 3 hours 12 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
9 PM EDT TUE APR 22 1997

RDU & CAE: CONT GOING TRND WITH SHRA/TSRA OVR CWA THRU WED AS LO PRES
AND ASSOCD CDFNT MOVS THRU THE AREA.

DISC: CRNTLY...SHRA/TSRA CONT TO MOV ENE ACRS THE AREA AS NRLY STNRY
WMFNT DRIFTS N. WMFNT WILL CONT N AS AN IMPRESSIVE LO PRES SYS AND
ITS ASSOCD FNT MOV INTO THE RGN. SYS IS MSTR LADEN AS GLF IS TAPPED.
THE LO/FNT ARE PROGGD TO MOV ACRS THE AREA WED AND OFF THE CST WED
EVE. LOOKS LIKE WED WILL BE AN ACTIVE DAY AS DYNAMICS ARE IN PLC.
MDLS AGR IN MOVG SERIES OF STG SHRT WVS THRU RGN WHICH WILL ENHANCE
THE ACTVTY. CONT CRNT FCST TRND. GOING TEMPS/POPS OK.

FOR CSTL WTRS...CONT CRNT TRND.

DTR

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 22, 10:40 PM EDT, 1 hour 34 minutes before
NCZ080-095-093-047-090-079-081-092-091-029-104-098-094-503-044-
046-045-502-501-103-230215-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT NC
1035 PM EDT TUE APR 22 1997

...A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED ACROSS PARTS
OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA WEDNESDAY...

LOW PRESSURE OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS WILL STRENGTHEN RAPIDLY
OVERNIGHT.  UNSEASONABLY STRONG UPPER LEVEL ENERGY WILL ACCOMPANY THE
LOW PRESSURE AREA SETTING THE STAGE FOR SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS EASTERN
NORTH CAROLINA.

A WARM FRONT ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COASTAL COUNTIES WILL LIKELY FOCUS
THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLE ISOLATED TORNADOES
ALONG THE COAST FROM ONSLOW AND CARTERET COUNTIES NORTHEAST TO THE
SOUTHERN OUTER BANKS DURING THE MORNING HOURS.
.
BY THE EARLY AFTERNOON...THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHWARD
ALLOWING THE ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME WARM AND UNSTABLE OVER MUCH OF THE
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL COAST AND COASTAL PLAIN. A MODERATE RISK OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS ANTICIPATED MAINLY SOUTH OF LINE FROM NEW
BERN WEST TO KINSTON DURING THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS
WEDNESDAY.

ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA...A SLIGHT RISK OF
SEVERE THUNDERSjTORMS IS EXPECTED. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED
LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. PERSONS ARE URGED TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE
WEATHER THROUGH WEDNESDAY AND BE PREPARED TO INVOKE EMERGENCY ACTION
PROCEDURES IN THE EVENT OF SEVERE WEATHER.

DB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 22, 11:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMBrunswick61 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.