Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Raleigh, NC

December 17, 2000Harnett County, Johnston County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Dec 17, 2000, 12:09 AM EST for Harnett County, Johnston County, North Carolina. It was in force for 36 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: Dec 17, 2000, 12:09 AM EST (05:09 UTC)
Expired: Dec 17, 2000, 12:45 AM EST
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Raleigh, NC
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Harnett County, NC, Johnston County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:11 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
Dec 17, 12:15 AM EST	Tornado F0	Coats, NC	Large tree limbs were blown down, smashing car windows.
Dec 17, 12:20 AM EST	Hail 1.5	Hardy Xrds, 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 nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 5.2 hours before the alert went out and 135 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: 5 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 337 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 553 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 579 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 
WFUS52 KRAH 170510
TORRDU

NCC085-101-170545-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1209 AM EST SUN DEC 17 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  HARNETT COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA
  JOHNSTON COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1245 AM EST

* AT 1209 AM EST...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  ERWIN...OR ABOUT 9 MILES SOUTH OF LILLINGTON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT
  20 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...
  BENSON
  CLAYTON
  DUNN
  LILLINGTON
  SMITHFIELD

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE
BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE
BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 3530 7893 3518 7877 3562 7818 3574 7841

&
RFG/RLH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 16, 11:44 PM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Cumberland, Harnett	31 min
Dec 17, 12:33 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Franklin, Johnston, Nash, Wake	27 min
Dec 17, 12:57 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Franklin, Nash	33 min
Dec 17, 1:23 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Halifax, Warren	37 min
Dec 17, 2:07 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Orange	33 min
Dec 17, 2:18 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Person	27 min
Dec 17, 2:26 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Anson	34 min
Dec 17, 2:46 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Montgomery, Richmond	29 min
Dec 17, 3:09 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Moore	36 min
Dec 17, 3:21 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Granville, Vance	24 min
Dec 17, 3:29 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Chatham	31 min
Dec 17, 4:01 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Durham, Orange	29 min
Dec 17, 4:29 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Halifax	31 min
Dec 17, 5:27 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Wilson	18 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2000 Every tornado warning in 2000 Tornadoes 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.