Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Wilmington, NC

March 9, 1998Columbus County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Mar 9, 1998, 2:37 AM EST for Columbus County, North Carolina. It was in force for 33 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 9, 1998, 2:37 AM EST (07:37 UTC)
Expired
Mar 9, 1998, 3:10 AM EST
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Columbus County, NC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 9, 2:50 AM ESTThunderstorm Wind 75Nakina, NCDAMAGED ROOFS, TREES SNAPPED, AND CAR AND TRUCK WINDOWS DAMAGED IN THE MANLY SMITH ROAD AND HAPPY HOME CHURCH AREAS.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Mar 9, 2:15 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 7.6 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 1998-03-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 628 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, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 1998-03-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 234 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
628 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
504 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
234 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
263 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

049 
WFUS1 KILM 090738 RRA
TORILM
NCC047-090810-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
237 AM EST MON MAR 9 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A...

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

  COLUMBUS COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 310 AM EST

* AT 230 AM EST... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 31
  MILES SOUTH OF LUMBERTON OR NEAR CHADBOURN MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE IN THE VICINITY OF...
        WHITEVILLE              BY 250 AM EST


IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR OF A BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE...LAY
DOWN IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

SQI

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 9, 3:14 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMBrunswick46 min
Mar 9, 3:30 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMNew Hanover, Pender55 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.