Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Wilmington, NC

July 24, 2002Brunswick County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 24, 2002, 5:49 PM EDT for Brunswick County, North Carolina. It was in force for 26 min. 1 report 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
Jul 24, 2002, 5:49 PM EDT (21:49 UTC)
Expired
Jul 24, 2002, 6:15 PM EDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Brunswick County, NC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 19 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:48 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 24, 5:55 PM EDTTornado F0Shallotte, NCA waterspout formed in the Shallote River and briefly moved over land before dissipating. The F0 tornado crossed Gray Bridge Road. There was no damage reported.

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

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 149 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, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2002-07-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 239 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, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2002-07-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
239 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-71 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
949 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
41 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.

917 
WFUS52 KILM 242149
TORILM
NCC019-242215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
549 PM EDT WED JUL 24 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BRUNSWICK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 615 PM EDT

* AT 542 PM EDT...BRUNSWICK COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS REPORTED A 
WATERSPOUT NEAR THE SHALLOTTE RIVER. THIS WATERSPOUT COULD EASILY 
MOVE ONSHORE AS A TORNADO.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  THE SHALLOTTE RIVER ENTRANCE AND THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY

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.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND ASK
THEM TO RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN WILMINGTON NC.

.END

$$

TRA

LAT...LON 3391 7853 3380 7835 3400 7814 3413 7835

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes in 2002

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.