Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 8, NWS Raleigh, NC
NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Mar 20, 1998, 5:27 PM EST for Person County, North Carolina. It was in force for 33 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, 5:27 PM EST (22:27 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 20, 1998, 6:00 PM EST
- In force
- 33 min
- Issued by
- NWS Raleigh, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Person County, NC
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 5:30 PM EST | Hail 1.75 | Hesters Store, NC | Golfball size hail reported in Hester's Store community by a local 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.
| 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, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 102 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.
481 WFUS1 KRDU 202228 RRA TORRDU NCC145-202300- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 527 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR PERSON COUNTY * UNTIL 600 PM EST * THIS STORM WILL MOVE NEAR THE COMMUNITIES OF: ROSEVILLE...BROOKSDALE AND ROXBORO * BASIS FOR WARNING: AT 525 PM RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IT IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. MOVE TO SAFE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY DELGADO
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, 3:05 PM EST, 2 hours 22 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM, NC
305 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
TIME (EST) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST ...EVENT/REMARKS...
.....COUNTY LOCATION.....
238 PM PFAFFTOWN NC 1.00 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 FORSYTH REPORTED BY SKYWARN SPOTTER
MFLocal storm report, Mar 20, 3:08 PM EST, 2 hours 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
308 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0237 PM LEWISVILLE NC .5 INCH HAIL
03/20/98 FORSYTH REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
OFFICIALSLocal storm report, Mar 20, 3:30 PM EST, 1 hour 57 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 9 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, 26 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, 22 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
SPOTTERThe 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, 5:33 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Randolph | 32 min |
| Mar 20, 5:58 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Durham, Orange | 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
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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.