Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 49, NWS Raleigh, NC

May 20, 2000Alamance County, Guilford County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 2000, 7:35 PM EDT for Alamance County, Guilford County, North Carolina. It was in force for 35 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 20, 2000, 7:35 PM EDT (23:35 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 2000, 8:10 PM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Alamance County, NC, Guilford County, NC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 20, 8:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EHillsborough, NCHundreds of people without power as many trees fell into power lines.
May 20, 8:10 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EBurlington, NCNumerous trees and power lines blown down.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 20, 5:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 130 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2000-05-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 38 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2000-05-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 87 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
38 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
696 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
130 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.

769 
WUUS52 KRAH 202337
SVRRDU
NCC001-081-135-210010-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
735 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  ALAMANCE COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA
  EAST GUILFORD COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA
  ORANGE COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 810 PM EDT

* AT 735 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ALAMANCE...OR ABOUT 9
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF BURLINGTON...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
   BURLINGTON AT 740 PM EDT
   SAXAPAHAW...HAW RIVER...GRAHAM AT 745 PM EDT
   TEER...MEBANE AT 750 PM EDT
   EFLAND AT 755 PM EDT
   HILLSBOROUGH AT 800 PM EDT
   SCHLEY AT 805 PM EDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. NUMEROUS REPORTS OF LARGE TREES DOWN ON 
HOMES AS WELL AS POWER OUTAGES HAVE BEEN RECEIVED. SOME FLOODING IS 
ALSO LIKELY.

TAKE COVER FROM THIS STORM TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE 

LAT...LON 3607 7966 3589 7960 3589 7902 3625 7898

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 6:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHForsyth28 min
May 20, 6:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDavidson29 min
May 20, 6:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDavidson, Forsyth35 min
May 20, 7:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHGuilford28 min
May 20, 7:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHRandolph33 min
May 20, 7:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHOrange35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2000Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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.