Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 11, NWS Raleigh, NC
NWS Raleigh, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 20, 1998, 5:58 PM EST for Durham County, Orange County, North Carolina. It was in force for 32 min. 3 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
- Mar 20, 1998, 5:58 PM EST (22:58 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 20, 1998, 6:30 PM EST
- In force
- 32 min
- Issued by
- NWS Raleigh, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Durham County, NC, Orange County, NC
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 6:04 PM EST | Hail 0.75 | Hillsborough, NC | Dime size hail occurred according to Skywarn Observers about 1 mile east of Hillsborough on I-85. |
| Mar 20, 6:20 PM EST | Hail 0.75 | Durham, NC | Dime hail was reported on 15-501 in the city of Durham by 911. |
| Mar 20, 6:30 PM EST | Tornado F2 | Bahama, NC | A tornado first touched down in rural northeast Durham county off Bahama Road. The tornado moved northeast and took the roof off a manufactured home on a brick foundation. One minor injury occurred in the home. Down the road a half mile on Range Road, the to |
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 20, 1:00 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 136 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 595 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 179 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 234 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KRDU 202258 RRA SVRRDU NCC063-135-202330- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 558 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR DURHAM COUNTY ORANGE COUNTY * UNTIL 630 PM EST * THIS STORM WILL AFFECT: BLACKWOOD...EUBANKS...UNIVERSITY...ENO IN ORANGE COUNTY WESTERN DURHAM AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN DURHAM COUNTY * BASIS FOR WARNING: AT 555 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN SOUTH CENTRAL ORANGE COUNTY NEAR BLACKWOOD. IT IS MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE HAIL OVER 1 INCH IN DIAMETER. MOVE TO SAFETY NOW. ALTHOUGH NO TORNADOES HAVE BEEN DETECTED WITH THIS STORM, A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT. DELGADO
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.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Mar 20, 3:30 PM EST, 2 hours 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM NC
330 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0238 PM PFAFFTOWN NC 1 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 FORSYTH REPORTED BY SKYWARN
SPOTTER
0320 PM WINSTON SALEM NC 1 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 FORSYTH QUARTER INCH HAIL REPORTED
BY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENTLocal storm report, Mar 20, 4:18 PM EST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM NC
418 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0412 PM SOPHIA NC .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 RANDOLPH THREE QUARTER INCH HAIL
REPORTED IN SOPHIA...PER
RANDOLPH COUNTY SHERIFFLocal storm report, Mar 20, 5:01 PM EST, 57 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM NC
501 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0315 PM MEBANE NC .5 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 ALAMANCE HALF INCH HAIL NEAR THE
ALAMANCE/ORANGE COUNTY
LINE NEAR I-85
0359 PM ROXBORO NC 2 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 PERSON TWO INCH HAIL REPORTED BY
SKYWARN
0359 PM DENTON NC .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 DAVIDSON REPORTED BY SKYWARN
0404 PM FLINT HILL NC .5 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 RANDOLPH HALF INCH HAIL REPORTED
WESTERN PORTION OF
COUNTY...PEA SIZE IN
ARCHDALE
0438 PM BURLINGTON NC 1 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 ALAMANCE QUARTER SIZE HAIL BETWEEN
GRAHAM & BURLINGTON...RPTD
BY WEATHER OBSERVERLocal storm report, Mar 20, 5:05 PM EST, 53 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM NC
505 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0500 PM BURLINGTON NC .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 ALAMANCE DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON
COY STREET BY WEATHER
SPOTTERLocal storm report, Mar 20, 5:50 PM EST, 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
550 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0318 PM WINSTON SALEM NC 1 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 FORSYTH SHERIFF DEPT. REPORTED
QUARTER INCH HAIL IN
WINSTON SALEM.
0320 PM WINSTON SALEM NC 1 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 FORSYTH REPORTED BY FORSYTH COUNTY
SHERIFFLocal storm report, Mar 20, 5:54 PM EST, 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
554 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0548 PM PISGAH NC .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 RANDOLPH RANDOLPH COUNTY EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT REPORTED DIME
SIZE HAIL IN THE PISGAH
COMMUNITYThe office that day
Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 2:35 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Forsyth | 30 min |
| Mar 20, 3:17 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Forsyth | 33 min |
| Mar 20, 3:36 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Davidson | 34 min |
| Mar 20, 3:54 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Randolph | 31 min |
| Mar 20, 4:15 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Person | 30 min |
| Mar 20, 4:20 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Guilford | 35 min |
| Mar 20, 4:41 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Alamance | 34 min |
| Mar 20, 5:27 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Person | 33 min |
| Mar 20, 5:33 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Randolph | 32 min |
| Mar 20, 6:00 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Wake | 35 min |
| Mar 20, 6:26 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Chatham, Wake | 34 min |
| Mar 20, 6:28 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Alamance | 32 min |
| Mar 20, 6:44 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Granville | 31 min |
| Mar 20, 6:50 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Granville | 35 min |
| Mar 20, 6:56 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Orange | 29 min |
| Mar 20, 6:56 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Franklin | 29 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.