Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Wilmington, NC

July 23, 2003Horry County, South Carolina; Brunswick County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 23, 2003, 5:52 PM EDT for Horry County, South Carolina; Brunswick County, North Carolina. It was in force for 38 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 23, 2003, 5:52 PM EDT (21:52 UTC)
Expired
Jul 23, 2003, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Brunswick County, NC, Horry County, SC

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 178 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2003-07-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1301 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2003-07-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 59 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1301 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
471 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
58 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 KILM 232152
TORILM
NCC019-SCC051-232230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
552 PM EDT WED JUL 23 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

  HORRY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA
  BRUNSWICK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT

* AT 550 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER LITTLE RIVER...OR ABOUT
  16 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SHALLOTTE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   SUNSET BEACH AROUND 600 PM
   LONGWOOD AROUND 605 PM
   OCEAN ISLE BEACH AROUND 610 PM
   SHALLOTTE AROUND 620 PM
   VARNAMTOWN AROUND 625 PM
   SUPPLY AROUND 630 PM

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.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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.

LAT...LON 3390 7876 3375 7865 3394 7816 3416 7831

$$

JAQ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 23, 5:34 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningILM116 min
Jul 23, 6:58 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningILM2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 2003Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

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.