Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Raleigh, NC

December 17, 2000Franklin County, Nash County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Dec 17, 2000, 12:57 AM EST for Franklin County, Nash County, North Carolina. It was in force for 33 min. 1 report 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, 12:57 AM EST (05:57 UTC)
Expired: Dec 17, 2000, 1:30 AM EST
In force: 33 min
Issued by: NWS Raleigh, NC
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Franklin County, NC, Nash County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:58 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, 1:13 AM EST	Hail 0.75	Bunn, NC	Dime-size hail reported near Lake Royale.

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
Dec 17, 12:30 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 6.0 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: 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 170559
TORRDU

NCC069-127-183-170630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1257 AM EST SUN DEC 17 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA
  NASH COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA
  WAKE COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 130 AM EST

* AT 1257 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER ZEBULON IN WAKE COUNTY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
   BUNN AT 105 AM EST
   SPRING HOPE AT 110 AM EST
   CASTALIA AT 125 AM EST
   CENTERVILLE...AVENTON AT 130 AM EST

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNAmDO 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 3587 7844 3576 7826 3610 7788 3624 7809

1 follow-up statement

000 
WFUS52 KRAH 170601 COR
TORRDU

NCC127-183-170630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1259 AM EST SUN DEC 17 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA
  NASH COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 130 AM EST

* AT 1257 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 2 MILES NORTHEAST OF ZEBULON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
   BUNN AT 105 AM EST
   SPRING HOPE AT 110 AM EST
   CASTALIA AT 125 AM EST
   CENTERVILLE...AVENTON AT 130 AM EST

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.

...CORRECTED TO REMOVE WAKE COUNTY FROM THE WARNING...

LAT...LON 3587 7844 3576 7826 3610 7788 3624 7809

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, 12:09 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Harnett, Johnston	36 min
Dec 17, 12:33 AM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Franklin, Johnston, Nash, Wake	27 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.