Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 7, NWS Wilmington, NC
NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Mar 8, 1998, 3:56 PM EST for Columbus County, North Carolina. It was in force for 44 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
- Mar 8, 1998, 3:56 PM EST (20:56 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 8, 1998, 4:40 PM EST
- In force
- 44 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wilmington, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Columbus County, NC
The radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8, 4:10 PM EST | Tornado F0 | Cerro Gordo, NC | A TORNADO SNAPPED A LINE OF TREE TOPS AND DAMAGED ROOFING, BARNS AND UTILITY SHEDS. HEAVY RAIN OCCURRED WITH THE STORM, FLOODING DITCHES. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8, 3:15 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 172 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
- 174 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -12 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 539 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 131 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 142 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KILM 082056 RRA
TORILM
NCC047-082140-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
356 PM EST SUN MAR 8 1998
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A...
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
WESTERN COLUMBUS COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
* UNTIL 440 PM EST
* AT 352 PM EST... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 23 MILES SOUTH
OF LUMBERTON OR 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BOLTON MOVING NORTHEAST AT
35 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE IN THE VICINITY OF...
CERRO GORDO BY 358 PM EST
4 MILES EAST OF EVERGREEN BY 405 PM EST
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN
AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS MAY ALSO
OCCUR. BE READY TO MOVE TO SHELTER IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR
AREA.
REMEMBER...THE ACTIONS YOU TAKE DURING A TORNADO EVENT MAY SAVE
YOUR LIFE AND THE LIVES OF YOUR FAMILY.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FLEE A TORNADO IN A CAR. ABANDON CARS OR MOBILE
HOMES AND SEEK SHELTER. IF YOU ARE IN A CAR WITH A TORNADO BEARING
DOWN ON YOU...GET OUT AND HEAD FOR THE NEAREST DITCH OR DEPRESSION.
HAWKINSThe office that day
Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8, 2:21 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Robeson | 49 min |
| Mar 8, 2:44 PM EST | Tornado Warning | ILM | Robeson | 31 min |
| Mar 8, 3:08 PM EST | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen | 17 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998
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.