Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 25, NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC

May 1, 1997Martin County, North Carolina

NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 1, 1997, 6:25 PM EDT for Martin County, North Carolina. It was in force for 50 min. 2 reports 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: May 1, 1997, 6:25 PM EDT (22:25 UTC)
Expired: May 1, 1997, 7:15 PM EDT
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
Area: Whole counties

County Martin County, NC

The radar

The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:26 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 1, 6:32 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Williamston, NC
May 1, 6:58 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 56	Jamesville, NC	Several 12 inch diameter trees knocked down.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 1, 3:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1096 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 75 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 KMHX 012229 RRA
SVRMHX
NCC117-012315-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT NC
625 PM EDT THU MAY 1 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEWPORT HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
 
   ...MARTIN COUNTY
 
AT 623 PM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN PITT COUNTY
NEAR OAKLEY. THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH AND
WILL MOVE INTO MARTIN COUNTY BETWEEN BEAR GRASS AND SMITHWICK AROUND 635
PM. EXPECT LARGE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH AS THE STORM PASSES.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...LARGE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR
YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
AVOID DRIVING INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

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 Newport/Morehead City, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 1, 2:09 PM EDT, 4 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 2:09 PM EDT, 4 hours 16 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
209 PM EDT THU MAY 1 1997

RDU: PRBLY NEED TO ADD SML EVE POP ESPCLY FRM CNTRL CST/OUTER BANKS N OTRW
BCMG CLR OVRNGT INTO FRI. BECMG PC FRI NGT WITH PSBL ISOLD SHRA S CST LT.
PC/WNDY/WRM SAT WITH MNLY AFTN SHRA/TSRA CHCS. TEMP GUID CLS WITH BLO GUID
NUMBERS FRI NGT AND WARMER FAN MORE IN LINE SAT.

CWF: SWLY GRAD CONTG TO GRDLY INCRS OVR THE WTRS THIS AFTN AND WILL HAVE TO
CONT MARG SCA AS MIX TO WTR INCRS AHD OF THE FRNT THIS EVE. QUICK SHOT OF
CAA BHND FROPA SHUD KEEP GRAD ARND 20 KTS TIL MORN AND THEN RELAX TO 15 KTS
OR LESS AS RDG BLDS OVRHD FRI. AS SFC HIGH SLIPS OFFSHR FRI NGT WL SEE FLW
QUICKLY VEER TO SE AND EVNTLY S SAT WITH GRAD INCRSG BACK TO AOA SCA CRIT.
MAY BE CLS TO GALE N LTR SAT BUT CAN HOLD OFF FOR NOW.

DISC: CD FRNT ACRS THE MTNS SLWLY EDGING EWD AND SHUD FINALLY RCH THE WTRS
THIS EVE. BST MCON/LIFT TO PASS N W/ PREFNTL BUT LKLY ENHANCED ERLY ON PER
RESULTANT BRZ SO APRS BST EVE CHCS MNLY FRM EWN N PER L2Z. WEAK SFC RIDGING
TO FOLLOW THE FRNT FRI BEFORE GETTING KICKED OFFSHR BY UPSTREAM S/W TROF FRI
NGT. VEERING ELY FLW TO S FRI NGT CUD SPARK LW LVL SHRA OFF WTR BY ERLY SAT
AS INDCTD BY ETA SIGMA LVL RH OTRW BCMG PC. MOISTURE ON THE INCRS FRM W TO
E SAT AS H5 TROF PROPELS SFC CD FRNT SLWLY EWD INTO CNTRL NC BY EVE. WL
LKLY SEE PREFRNTL ACTIVITY DVLP E WELL AHD OF FRNT WITH MNLY AFTN/EVE
SCENARIO POPS THE BST BET. WITH ONLY WK CAA BHND FRNT CRNT TEMPS TNGT/FRI
APR GUD. LIKE SLGHTLY BLO GUID FRI NGT WITH RDG SLW TO MOV E AND WRMR
FAN SAT PER INCRSG WAA.

.MHX...SCA COASTAL WATERS AND SOUNDS.
JH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 1, 6:08 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Pitt	52 min
May 1, 6:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Washington	33 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1997 Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.