Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 102

March 9, 199830 counties in North Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 9, 1998, 2:15 AM EST for 30 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 9, 1998, 2:15 AM EST (07:15 UTC)
Expired: Mar 9, 1998, 8:00 AM EST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 30 counties

Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Camden County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Gates County, NC, Greene County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Nash County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Pender County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC

The radar

The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:18 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

Warnings issued inside it

14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 9, 2:18 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Johnston, Wayne	37 min
Mar 9, 2:37 AM EST	Tornado Warning	ILM	Columbus	33 min
Mar 9, 2:47 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Wilson	28 min
Mar 9, 2:52 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Wayne	33 min
Mar 9, 2:59 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Greene	46 min
Mar 9, 3:02 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Edgecombe	33 min
Mar 9, 3:12 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Halifax	33 min
Mar 9, 3:14 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILM	Brunswick	46 min
Mar 9, 3:15 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Pitt	35 min
Mar 9, 3:30 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILM	New Hanover, Pender	55 min
Mar 9, 3:33 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Duplin	47 min
Mar 9, 4:17 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Onslow	48 min
Mar 9, 4:17 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Lenoir	48 min
Mar 9, 4:26 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Pitt	49 min

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 77 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: 628 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 504 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 234 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 263 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 4.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

893 
WWUS9 KMKC 090659
SEL2  
MKC WW 090659
NCZ000-091300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 102
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
159 AM EST MON MAR 9 1998

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA                     
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING FROM 215 AM UNTIL 800 AM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTH OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA TO 45
MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF ELIZABETH CITY NORTH CAROLINA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 101...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING ALONG WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY
IN AREA OF 500-1000 J/KG CAPES. STRONG WIND SHEAR PRESENT WITH 70
KT MID LEVEL FLOW BRINGING POTENTIAL FOR A FEW TORNADOES AND
DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.


...ROGASH

335,0785 363,0775 363,0755 335,0765

Nearby

Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 1998 Every tornado watch 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.