Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 27, NWS Raleigh, NC

March 20, 1998Durham County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 20, 1998, 9:35 PM EST for Durham County, North Carolina. It was in force for 30 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 20, 1998, 9:35 PM EST (02:35 UTC)
Expired: Mar 20, 1998, 10:05 PM EST
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Raleigh, NC
Area: Whole counties

County Durham County, NC

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 20, 9:45 PM EST	Hail 1	Durham, NC	Quarter sized hail fell 2 miles north of Northern Durham High School reported by a Raleigh Skywarn Spotter.

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, 7:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 92 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: 486 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 840 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 123 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

802 
WUUS1 KRDU 210236 RRA
SVRRDU
NCC063-210305-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
935 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  DURHAM COUNTY

* UNTIL 1005 PM EST

* THIS STORM WILL AFFECT:
  ROUGEMONT...QUAIL ROOST...AND BAHAMA...AND AREAS MAINLY IN THE
NORTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY.

* BASIS FOR WARNING:  WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
MOVING NORTHEAST NEAR 25 MPH FROM ORANGE COUNTY INTO DURHAM COUNTY
CENTERED NEAR INTERSTATE 85.

QUARTER SIZED HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED FROM THIS STORM IN ORANGE
COUNTY.


TORNADOES CAN DEVELOP WITHOUT WARNING FROM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.
NOISE LIKE A ROARING TRAIN MAY BE YOUR ONLY CLUE OF AN APPROACHING
TORNADO. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST ON THIS DANGEROUS
WEATHER SITUATION.

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, 6:54 PM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
654 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0649 PM    DURHAM                    NC   TORNADO
03/20/98   DURHAM                         *** 1 INJ ***
                                          DURHAM COUNTY 911 REPORTED
                                          A HOUSE DESTROYED AT 5706
                                          BAHAMA ROAD.

Local storm report, Mar 20, 6:57 PM EST, 2 hours 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
657 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0646 PM    RALEIGH                   NC   1 INCH HAIL
03/20/98   WAKE                           SKYWARN OBSERVER REPORTED
                                          QUARTER SIZE HAIL AT MINI
                                          CITY ON CAPITAL BLVD

Local storm report, Mar 20, 7:01 PM EST, 2 hours 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
701 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0650 PM    WAKE FOREST               NC   .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/98   WAKE                           SKYWARN OBSERVER REPORTED
                                          DIME SIZE HAIL IN WAKE
                                          FOREST

Local storm report, Mar 20, 7:23 PM EST, 2 hours 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
723 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0721 PM    LOUISBURG                 NC   2 INCH HAIL
03/20/98   FRANKLIN                       SKYWARN OBSERVER REPORTED
                                          SILVER DOLLAR SIZE HAIL 7
                                          MILES SOUTH OF LOUISBURG.

Local storm report, Mar 20, 8:59 PM EST, 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
859 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0857 PM    MORRISVILLE               NC   .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/98   WAKE                           SKYWARN OBSERVER REPORTED
                                          DIME SIZE HAIL IN
                                          MORRISVILLE

Local storm report, Mar 20, 9:03 PM EST, 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
903 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0901 PM    STOVALL                   NC   .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/98   GRANVILLE                      SKYWARN OBSERVER REPORTED
                                          DIME SIZE HAIL IN STOVALL
                                          NEAR HIGHWAY 15.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 20, 7:05 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Durham, Wake	30 min
Mar 20, 7:24 PM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Franklin	31 min
Mar 20, 7:34 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Granville, Person	46 min
Mar 20, 7:36 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Chatham	34 min
Mar 20, 7:49 PM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Warren	46 min
Mar 20, 7:58 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Orange	47 min
Mar 20, 8:02 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Hoke, Scotland	48 min
Mar 20, 8:24 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	RAH	Durham	31 min
Mar 20, 8:24 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Durham	31 min
Mar 20, 8:41 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Harnett	34 min
Mar 20, 8:46 PM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Granville	49 min
Mar 20, 8:54 PM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Durham, Wake	36 min
Mar 20, 9:08 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	RAH	Orange	32 min
Mar 20, 9:08 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Orange	32 min
Mar 20, 9:20 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Cumberland	20 min
Mar 20, 9:27 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Vance	33 min
Mar 20, 9:52 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Johnston, Wake	18 min
Mar 20, 10:21 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Nash, Wilson	34 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1998 Every 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.