Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 31

February 14, 200022 counties in North Carolina; Georgetown County, Horry County, South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 14, 2000, 5:00 AM EST for 22 counties in North Carolina; Georgetown County, Horry County, South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 14, 2000, 5:00 AM EST (10:00 UTC)
Expired: Feb 14, 2000, 10:00 AM EST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 24 counties

Beaufort County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Camden County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Dare County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Pender County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Washington County, NC, Georgetown County, SC, Horry County, SC

Warnings issued inside it

6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 14, 5:04 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILM	Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender	46 min
Feb 14, 5:20 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Onslow	55 min
Feb 14, 5:55 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILM	Brunswick, New Hanover	35 min
Feb 14, 6:00 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Carteret	45 min
Feb 14, 6:44 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MHX	Dare, Hyde	46 min
Feb 14, 8:44 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILM	Georgetown	46 min

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 93 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: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -69 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 693 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 231 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 376 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.

958 
WWUS9 KMKC 140940
SEL1  

SEL1  
MKC WW 140940
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-141500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 31
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
440 AM EST MON FEB 14 2000

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA                     
   NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA                     
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING FROM 500 AM UNTIL 1000 AM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF MYRTLE BEACH SOUTH
CAROLINA TO 50 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF ELIZABETH CITY NORTH
CAROLINA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 29...WW 30...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORSM ARE INCREASING FROM NERN SC INTO SERN NC
IN ADVANCE OF VIGOROUS UPPER SHORT WVAE TROUGH LIFTING NEWD INTO
THE CAROLINAS.  AIR MASS HAS BECOME MARGINALLY UNSTABLE ALONG
COASTAL SECTIONS...AND WITH VERY STRONG LOW LEVEL WINDS AND
VERTICAL SHEAR/HELICITY OVER THE AREA THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE
STORMS AND POSSIBLE SUPERCELLS IN INCREASING.  THREAT FOR DAMAGING
WIND GUSTS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL PERSIST DURING THE MORNING
HOURS AS STORMS MOVE RAPIDLY NEWD. 


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23045.


...WEISS

331,0801 363,0762 363,0741 331,0780

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 14, 1:45 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, Harnett and 11 more	5 hr
Feb 14, 3:00 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Beaufort, Jasper	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2000 Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2000 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.