Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Wilmington, NC

August 2, 2003Brunswick County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Aug 2, 2003, 11:19 AM EDT for Brunswick County, North Carolina. It was in force for 36 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
Aug 2, 2003, 11:19 AM EDT (15:19 UTC)
Expired
Aug 2, 2003, 11:55 AM EDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Brunswick County, NC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:20 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 138 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 2003-08-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1280 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2003-08-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 10 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
1280 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
736 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
30 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.

600 
WFUS52 KILM 021519
TORILM
NCC019-021555-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
1118 AM EDT SAT AUG 2 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

  BRUNSWICK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1155 AM EDT

* AT 1110 AM EDT...A BOATER REPORTED A LARGE WATERSPOUT 3 MILES SOUTH
  OF OAK ISLAND...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. 

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   YAUPON BEACH AROUND 1120 AM
   CASWELL BEACH AROUND 1125 AM
   SOUTHPORT AROUND 1130 AM
   BOILING SPRING LAKES AROUND 1145 AM

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.

LAT...LON 3390 7808 3390 7821 3421 7809 3411 7794
          3403 7794 3393 7799 3393 7795 3381 7794

$$

HAWKINS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 10:47 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningILM58 min

Nearby

Tornado 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.