Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Raleigh, NC

March 20, 1998Granville County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Mar 20, 1998, 8:46 PM EST for Granville County, North Carolina. It was in force for 49 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 20, 1998, 8:46 PM EST (01:46 UTC)
Expired
Mar 20, 1998, 9:35 PM EST
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Granville County, NC

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, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 115 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°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

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

548 
WFUS1 KRDU 210147 RRA
TORRDU
NCC077-210235-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
846 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  GRANVILLE COUNTY

* UNTIL 935 PM EST

* THIS TORNADO WILL AFFECT:  AREAS AROUND BUTNER...CREEDMOOR...
STEM AND AREAS ALONG I-85 TO OXFORD.

* BASIS FOR WARNING:  WEATEHR RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
LIKELY CONTAINING A TORNADO MOVING INTO GRANVILLE COUNTY FROM
DURHAM COUNTY.  THE STORMS HAVE BEEN TRACKING TO THE NORTHEAST NEAR
25 MPH.



GO TO THE LOWEST FLOOR...A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM OR CLOSET. COVER
YOUR HEAD. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

GET OUT OF MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES AND INTO A STURDY BUILDING OR A
DITCH. REPORT DAMAGE TO EMERGENCY OFFICIALS FOR RELAY TO THE
NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.

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

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, 8:54 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, 9:52 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHJohnston, Wake18 min
Mar 20, 10:21 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHNash, Wilson34 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.