Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 29, NWS Raleigh, NC

March 20, 1998Johnston County, Wake County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 20, 1998, 9:52 PM EST for Johnston County, Wake County, North Carolina. It was in force for 18 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, 9:52 PM EST (02:52 UTC)
Expired
Mar 20, 1998, 10:10 PM EST
In force
18 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Johnston County, NC, Wake County, NC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 20, 10:00 PM ESTHail 0.75Zebulon, NCDime sized hail fell in the town of Zebulon in eastern Wake county, reported by Wake county sheriff.

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 20, 7:00 PM ESTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 134 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1998-03-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 486 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1998-03-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 82 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
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

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 58 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 55 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 51 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 29 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, 53 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, 49 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 7:05 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDurham, Wake30 min
Mar 20, 7:24 PM ESTTornado WarningRAHFranklin31 min
Mar 20, 7:34 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHGranville, Person46 min
Mar 20, 7:36 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHChatham34 min
Mar 20, 7:49 PM ESTTornado WarningRAHWarren46 min
Mar 20, 7:58 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHOrange47 min
Mar 20, 8:02 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHoke, Scotland48 min
Mar 20, 8:24 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRAHDurham31 min
Mar 20, 8:24 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDurham31 min
Mar 20, 8:41 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHarnett34 min
Mar 20, 8:46 PM ESTTornado WarningRAHGranville49 min
Mar 20, 8:54 PM ESTTornado WarningRAHDurham, Wake36 min
Mar 20, 9:08 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRAHOrange32 min
Mar 20, 9:08 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHOrange32 min
Mar 20, 9:20 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHCumberland20 min
Mar 20, 9:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHVance33 min
Mar 20, 9:35 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDurham30 min
Mar 20, 10:21 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHNash, Wilson34 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.