Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Wilmington, NC

May 6, 2003Horry County, South Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at May 6, 2003, 6:47 PM EDT for Horry County, South Carolina. It was in force for 43 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: May 6, 2003, 6:47 PM EDT (22:47 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 2003, 7:30 PM EDT
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Wilmington, NC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Horry County, SC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 68 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:51 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

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 122 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: 870 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -21 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 821 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 80 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 127 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 4.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS52 KILM 062247
TORILM
SCC051-062330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
647 PM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

  HORRY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT

* AT 641 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  DONGOLA...OR ABOUT 14 MILES NORTHWEST OF MURRELLS INLET...MOVING
  EAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   SOCASTEE AROUND 655 PM
   SURFSIDE BEACH AROUND 700 PM
   MYRTLE BEACH AROUND 705 PM

THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE.

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.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT TUESDAY EVENING
FOR NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3357 7907 3365 7912 3376 7922 3375 7880
          3363 7895 3358 7900

$$

JAQ

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 6, 5:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILM	Florence	68 min
May 6, 5:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILM	Williamsburg	55 min
May 6, 6:37 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Georgetown	38 min

Nearby

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