Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC

April 15, 1999Jones County, Lenoir County, North Carolina

NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1999, 9:59 PM EDT for Jones County, Lenoir County, North Carolina. It was in force for 46 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: Apr 15, 1999, 9:59 PM EDT (01:59 UTC)
Expired: Apr 15, 1999, 10:45 PM EDT
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC
Area: Whole counties

Counties Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 15, 10:15 PM EDT	Tornado F2	Hargetts, NC
Apr 15, 10:15 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Pink Hill, NC

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
Apr 15, 6:15 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 68 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: 464 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 610 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 260 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 492 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.8
Supercell composite: 3.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHAT 160200
TORMHX
NCC103-107-160245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT-MOREHEAD CITY NC
959 PM EDT THU APR 15 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEWPORT HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA FOR...
  JONES COUNTY
  LENOIR COUNTY

* UNTIL 1045 PM EDT

* AT 959 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  A TORNADO 5 MILES WEST OF PINK HILL...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  OVER PINK HILL AROUND 1010 PM EDT.
  OVER JONESTOWN AROUND 1020 PM EDT.
  OVER COMFORT AROUND 1040 PM EDT.
  OVER PHILLIPS CROSSROADS AROUND 1045 PM EDT.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR...IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY
OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.
ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

PLEASE REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR RELAY TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

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.

NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Apr 15, 9:35 PM EDT, 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 15, 9:35 PM EDT, 24 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
935 PM EDT THU APR 15 1999

WIDESPREAD CONVECTION AND ISOLATED SVR CURRENTLY OVER AREA SHOULD
MOVE OFF COAST AROUND MIDNIGHT. SPC ISSUING NEW WATCH TO COVER TIL
THEN FOR COASTAL NC. 00Z MHX SOUNDING IMPRESSIVE WITH HELICITY
AROUND 500. WILL UPDATE ZFP WITH NEW WATCH ISSUANCE.

CWF: WIDESPREAD SCA CONDITIONS REPORTED WITH ISOLATED GALE AT
DIAMOND SHOALS. WILL CONTINUE CURRENT FCST.

.MHX...SCA COASTAL WATERS AND SOUNDS.

JBM

The office that day

Everything else NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 15, 9:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Hyde	38 min
Apr 15, 9:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Duplin	49 min
Apr 15, 9:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Dare	42 min
Apr 15, 9:53 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	MHX	Duplin	37 min
Apr 15, 10:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Onslow	44 min
Apr 15, 10:28 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	MHX	Craven	32 min
Apr 15, 10:39 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	MHX	Carteret	51 min
Apr 15, 10:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Pamlico	46 min
Apr 15, 11:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Beaufort	45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1999 Every tornado warning in 1999 Tornadoes in 1999

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.