Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 55, NWS Raleigh, NC
NWS Raleigh, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 1, 1998, 7:05 PM EDT for Alamance County, North Carolina. It was in force for 35 min. 2 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
- May 1, 1998, 7:05 PM EDT (23:05 UTC)
- Expired
- May 1, 1998, 7:40 PM EDT
- In force
- 35 min
- Issued by
- NWS Raleigh, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Alamance County, NC
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 7:13 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Union Ridge, NC | Golfball size hail fell in Union Ridge, reported by Triad Skywarn. |
| May 1, 7:15 PM EDT | Hail 2.5 | Altamahaw, NC | Hail the size of tennis balls caused significant damage to 65 single family homes, 13 manufactured homes, 3 churches and 300 cars. Windows were shattered, gutters torn from homes, lawn furniture ripped to shreds, and roofs were decimated. |
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 nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 45 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
- 7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -99 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 499 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 116 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 124 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
599 WUUS1 KRDU 012306 RRA SVRRDU NCC001-012340- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 705 PM EDT FRI MAY 1 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... NORTHERN ALAMANCE COUNTY * UNTIL 740 PM EDT * AT 706 PM EDT...AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR ALTAMAHAW ALONG HIGHWAY 87... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... HIGHWAY 87 THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF LARGE HAIL. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS GH
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
Special weather statement, May 1, 6:03 PM EDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088>089-021200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 603 PM EDT FRI MAY 1 1998 ...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA FOR TONIGHT... (THE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA APPLIES ONLY TO THE COUNTIES LISTED AT THE END OF TEXT.) THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS OVERNIGHT. THE MAIN THREAT FROM SEVERE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND SUDDEN STRONG DOWNBURST WINDS. THE COMBINATION OF A COLD FRONT OVER WEST-CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA AND A WARM FRONT EAST-WEST ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE STATE WILL PROVIDE THE FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER NIGHT. ADDITIONALLY...WARM MOIST UNSTABLE AIR ALONG AND SOUTH OF THESE BOUNDARIES WILL AID IN THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT...SOME POSSIBLY REACHING SEVERE LIMITS. SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS CURRENTLY IN STANDBY MODE. PLEASE RELAY ANY REPORTS YOU RECEIVE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS. RA ********************************************************************* ALAMANCE ANSON CHATHAM CUMBERLAND DAVIDSON DURHAM EDGECOMBE FORSYTH FRANKLIN GRANVILLE GUILFORD HALIFAX HARNETT HOKE JOHNSTON LEE MONTGOMERY MOORE NASH ORANGE PERSON RANDOLPH RICHMOND SAMPSON SCOTLAND STANLY VANCE WAKE WARREN WAYNE WILSON
Special weather statement, May 1, 6:03 PM EDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088>089-021200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 603 PM EDT FRI MAY 1 1998 ...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA FOR TONIGHT... (THE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA APPLIES ONLY TO THE COUNTIES LISTED AT THE END OF TEXT.) THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS OVERNIGHT. THE MAIN THREAT FROM SEVERE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND SUDDEN STRONG DOWNBURST WINDS. THE COMBINATION OF A COLD FRONT OVER WEST-CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA AND A WARM FRONT EAST-WEST ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE STATE WILL PROVIDE THE FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER NIGHT. ADDITIONALLY...WARM MOIST UNSTABLE AIR ALONG AND SOUTH OF THESE BOUNDARIES WILL AID IN THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT...SOME POSSIBLY REACHING SEVERE LIMITS. SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS CURRENTLY IN STANDBY MODE. PLEASE RELAY ANY REPORTS YOU RECEIVE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS. RA ********************************************************************* ALAMANCE ANSON CHATHAM CUMBERLAND DAVIDSON DURHAM EDGECOMBE FORSYTH FRANKLIN GRANVILLE GUILFORD HALIFAX HARNETT HOKE JOHNSTON LEE MONTGOMERY MOORE NASH ORANGE PERSON RANDOLPH RICHMOND SAMPSON SCOTLAND STANLY VANCE WAKE WARREN WAYNE WILSON
The office that day
Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 6:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Davidson | 46 min |
| May 1, 6:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Guilford | 33 min |
| May 1, 7:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Guilford | 33 min |
| May 1, 7:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Person | 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.