Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Raleigh, NC

May 13, 2002Franklin County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at May 13, 2002, 8:16 PM EDT for Franklin County, North Carolina. It was in force for 14 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: May 13, 2002, 8:16 PM EDT (00:16 UTC)
Expired: May 13, 2002, 8:30 PM EDT
In force: 14 min
Issued by: NWS Raleigh, NC
Area: Whole counties

County Franklin County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:16 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
May 13, 8:25 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Bunn, NC	Trees were blown down along Highway 39.

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
May 13, 6:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 145 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: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1260 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -44 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 140016
TORRAH
NCC069-140030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
815 PM EDT MON MAY 13 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 830 PM EDT

* AT 815 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF BUNN...OR ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  LOUISBURG...MOVING EAST AT 60 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE..
  BUNN

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. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE.

$$

DGS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 13, 8:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Franklin	14 min
May 13, 8:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Cumberland, Harnett	41 min
May 13, 8:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Nash, Wilson	24 min
May 13, 8:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson	36 min
May 13, 8:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Wayne	28 min
May 13, 8:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Sampson	42 min
May 13, 8:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Wayne	32 min
May 13, 9:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Sampson	46 min

Nearby

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