Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Raleigh, NC

July 5, 2002Johnston County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 5, 2002, 7:13 PM EDT for Johnston County, North Carolina. It was in force for 32 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 5, 2002, 7:13 PM EDT (23:13 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 2002, 7:45 PM EDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Johnston County, NC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 5, 7:15 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 60 ESelma, NCA downburst caused several blocks of damage in Selma. Several trees were uprooted, and some homes were slightly damaged. A portion of a roof on a school was blown off. The greatest damage was within 10 city blocks of Green Street.

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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 213 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1258 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-07-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 53 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
1258 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1019 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
53 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.

293 
WFUS52 KRAH 052313
TORRAH
NCC101-052345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
713 PM EDT FRI JUL 5 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 745 PM EDT

* AT 713 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 2 MILES WEST OF SELMA...OR ABOUT 2 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  SMITHFIELD...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
   PRINCETON AT 725 PM EDT

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.

$$

DGS/JC

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 5, 5:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHJohnston12 min
Jul 5, 6:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHFranklin41 min
Jul 5, 6:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHJohnston43 min
Jul 5, 6:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHWilson26 min
Jul 5, 6:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHalifax29 min
Jul 5, 7:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHalifax, Nash28 min
Jul 5, 7:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHWilson42 min
Jul 5, 7:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHWayne28 min
Jul 5, 7:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHEdgecombe, Halifax49 min
Jul 5, 7:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHarnett, Johnston, Wake41 min
Jul 5, 7:54 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHWilson66 min
Jul 5, 7:57 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHJohnston2 hr

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.