Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1999

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Raleigh, NC

March 3, 1999Vance County, Warren County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 3, 1999, 4:16 PM EST for Vance County, Warren County, North Carolina. It was in force for 49 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: Mar 3, 1999, 4:16 PM EST (21:16 UTC)
Expired: Mar 3, 1999, 5:05 PM EST
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Raleigh, NC
Area: Whole counties

Counties Vance County, NC, Warren County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:16 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 3, 4:20 PM EST	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Countywide, NC
Mar 3, 4:20 PM EST	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Countywide, 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
Mar 3, 2:15 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 151 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1692 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 271 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 304 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KRDU 032116 RRA
SVRRDU
NCC181-185-032205-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
416 PM EST WED MAR 3 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  VANCE COUNTY
  WARREN COUNTY

* UNTIL 505 PM EST

* AT 414 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR OXFORD SOUTH TO JUST WEST OF LOUISBURG...
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. WIND GUSTS NEAR 60 MPH ARE LIKELY
  WITH THESE STORMS.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  HENDERSON 425 PM
  WARRENTON BY 450 PM

THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF DAMAGING WIND. GO INSIDE A STURDY
BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!

GIH/WSS

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, Mar 3, 11:15 AM EST, 5 hours 1 minute before

NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088>089-040000

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1115 AM EST THU MAR 3 1999

...POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE EAST THIS
AFTERNOON...

(THE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA APPLIES ONLY TO
THE COUNTIES LISTED AT THE END OF TEXT.)

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON.
THE AREA OF CONCERN IS EAST OF I-95. THE MAJOR THREAT WILL BE FROM
WIND. STRONG LOW LEVEL AND SURFACE WINDS WILL PICK UP AND MAY BE
ENHANCED WITH THUNDERSTORMS. THUS THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE FOR
DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS. A THREAT FOR DAMAGING HAIL ALSO EXISTS
ALBEIT A SECONDARY CONCERN AT THIS POINT.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL BRING BLUSTERY WINDS AND RAIN TO CENTRAL
NORTH CAROLINA. AS TEMPERATURES CLIMB INTO THE MID 70S AND THE LINE
OF RAIN PROGRESSES TO THE EAST...THE RAINS MAY CHANGE INTO MORE
THUNDERSTORMS.

WARM MOIST AIR WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE INTO THE EASTERN SECTIONS OF
THE STATE AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. THIS IN ADDITION TO THE WINDS
ALOFT THAT ARE EXPECTED TO EXCEED 60 MILES AN HOUR AND ANY
THUNDERSTORM COULD FORCE THESE DAMAGING WINDS TO THE SURFACE.

THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER IS MINIMAL IN THE TRIAD...TRIANGLE
AND SOUTHERN PIEDMONT AREA. HOWEVER SHOULD A THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOP...IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE SEVERE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED IN THE AREAS EAST OF I-95. SPOTTERS
NEED TO REMAIN ALERT FOR THE POTENTIAL OF SKYWARN BEING ACTIVATED.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR
POSSIBLE WATCHES OR WARNINGS.

CLINE

***********************************************************************

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

Local storm report, Mar 3, 1:47 PM EST, 2 hours 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
147 PM EST WED MAR 03 1999

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0100 PM    ARCOLA                    NC   .75 INCH HAIL
03/03/99   WARREN                         WARREN COUNTY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGEMENT REPORTED DIME
                                          SIZE HAIL IN ARCOLA.

Local storm report, Mar 3, 2:53 PM EST, 1 hour 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
253 PM EST WED MAR 03 1999

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0225 PM    WINSTON SALEM             NC   .75 INCH HAIL
03/03/99   FORSYTH                        SKYWARN OBSERVERS REPORTED
                                          DIME SIZE HAIL IN WINSTON
                                          SALEM.

Local storm report, Mar 3, 2:57 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
257 PM EST WED MAR 03 1999

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0225 PM    WINSTON SALEM             NC   WIND DAMAGE
03/03/99   FORSYTH                        SKYWARN OBSERVERS REPORTED
                                          HIGHWAY EXIT SIGNS BLOWN
                                          DOWN IN WINSTON SALEM

Local storm report, Mar 3, 2:58 PM EST, 1 hour 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
258 PM EST WED MAR 03 1999

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0120 PM    ROANOKE RAPIDS            NC   .75 INCH HAIL
03/03/99   HALIFAX                        SKYWARN OBSERVERS REPORTED
                                          DIME SIZE HAIL IN ROANOKE
                                          RAPIDS.

Local storm report, Mar 3, 3:41 PM EST, 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
341 PM EST WED MAR 03 1999

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0326 PM    FAYETTEVILLE ARPT         NC   61 MPH TSTM GUST
03/03/99   CUMBERLAND                     ASOS REPORT

The office that day

Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 3, 1:25 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Johnston	30 min
Mar 3, 3:19 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Cumberland, Harnett, Sampson	31 min
Mar 3, 3:37 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Johnston, Wake	33 min
Mar 3, 3:51 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Nash, Wilson	44 min
Mar 3, 3:51 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Sampson, Wayne	44 min
Mar 3, 4:03 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Granville	47 min
Mar 3, 4:06 PM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Halifax, Nash	49 min
Mar 3, 4:09 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Franklin	46 min
Mar 3, 4:31 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson	49 min
Mar 3, 4:46 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Halifax	49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1999 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.