Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 161, NWS Raleigh, NC
NWS Raleigh, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 22, 2003, 5:36 PM EDT for Forsyth County, North Carolina. It was in force for 39 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 22, 2003, 5:36 PM EDT (21:36 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 22, 2003, 6:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 39 min
- Issued by
- NWS Raleigh, NC
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Forsyth County, NC
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 101 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:36 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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 32 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 323 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -124 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1031 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 17 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -114 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -74 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
620 WUUS52 KRAH 222136 SVRRAH NCC067-222215- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 535 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... FORSYTH COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 615 PM EDT * AT 535 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WINSTON-SALEM...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. * SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE... WINSTON-SALEM WALKERTOWN KERNERSVILLE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. LAT...LON 3607 8044 3594 8029 3618 7994 3634 8014 $$ PWB
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 22, 2:52 PM EDT, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 22, 2:52 PM EDT, 2 hours 44 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 250 PM AM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003 MSTR CONT TO INCREASE THRU THE COLUMN THIS AFTN. PWAT INCREASED OVER A HALF INCH IN THE PAST 25 HOURS AND SHOULD BE JUST UNDER 2 INCHES BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. WILL KEEP SHRA/TSTMS IN THE 50-70 POP RANGE FOR TNT AS FRONT BEGINS TO APPROACH THE TRIAD BY MORNING AND THEN BECOME STATIONARY. WED...UPPER TROUGH CONT TO DIG S AND IS BECOMING RATHER CONCERNING. CENTRAL NC AND THE COASTAL PLAIN WILL FALL UNDER THE RIGHT REAR QUAD OF A NEXITING JET STREAK LIFTING NORTH ON THE E SIDE OF THE UPPER TROUGH. ETA SUGGEST BEST UPPER DIVRG WILL BE IN THE EAST HOWECER MODELS HANG THE SURFACE BNDRY UP TO THE W ACROSS THE WESTERN PIEDMONT. A STRONG H5 VORT WILL SWING AROUND THE BASE OF THE UPPER TROUGH LATE IN THE AFTN WED ENHANCING LIFT ACROSS THE AREA. WIND PROFILES SUGGEST THAT THERE WILL BE DECENT SPEED SHEAR IN THE LOW LEVELS AND COULD SUPPORT LINES OF STORMS AS WELL AS TRAINING STORMS RESULTING IN SOME HIGH WINDS AND FLOODING. PWAT WILL BE JUST UNDER 2 INCHES WED AND STORMS WILL EASLIY PRODUCE RAINFALL RATES OF 2 INCHES PER HOUR. GFS BRINGS A DRY SLOT INTO THE WESTERN PIEDMONT WED AFTN AND ETA GUIDANCE HAS ALSO BACKED OFF ON POPS A LITTLE SO WILL BACK OFF ON CURRENT CATEGORICAL POPS AND GO WITH A 60-70 POP FOR WED MONTIONING NUMEROUS SHRA/TSTMS FROM RALEIGH EAST WITH LOWER POPS ACROSS THE WESTERN PIEDMONT. ETA BRINGS THE DRY SLOT ACROSS THE PIEDMONG DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS WED WITH A CONT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN THE EASTERN PIEDMONT AND COASTAL PLAIN. GFS HOLDS THE MSTR IN A LITTLE LONGER AND KEEPS SFC BNDRY IN THE PIEDMONT. WILL KEEP SHRA/TSTMS IN THE FCST FOR WED NIGHT WITH BEST CHANCE FROM THE TRIANGLE EAST. THU...MODELS DIFFER QUITE A BIT FOR THU. ETA TAKES SFC BNDRY TO THE COAST WITH DRIER WLY WINDS SETTING UP ACROSS THE AREA WHERE THE GFS CONT TO KEEP THE SFC BNDRY IN THE WESTERN PIEDMONT WITH MSTR CONTINUING OVER THE EASTERN PIEDMIONT AND ESPECIALLY THE COASTAL PLAIN. FRI THRU SUN...HIGH PRES BUILDS IN FROM THE W WITH TEMPS CLIMBING BACK TO AROUND 90. LITTLE TO NO MENTION OF RAIN SO FAR FOR THE WEEKEND. MON AND TUE...AN UPPER TROUGH AGAIN DIGS S ACROSS THE EAST BRINING ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHRA/TSTME FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. .RAH...NONE. ORROCK/HUMBLE
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 22, 5:50 AM EDT, 11 hours 46 minutes before
NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-221230- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 550 AM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A SOUTHWESTERLY WIND FLOW WILL PUMP MOISTURE FROM THE GULF STATES INTO NORTH CAROLINA. WITH TEMPERATURES PEAKING IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S... AND DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER TO MID 70S... THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND LASTING THROUGH THE EVENING. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE FROM LARGE HAIL... BUT DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MPH WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION... SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAINFALL... ESPECIALLY WHERE TWO OR MORE STORMS PASS OVER THE SAME AREA. ISOLATED LOCATIONS MAY SEE OVER TWO INCHES THROUGH TONIGHT. SUCH TOTALS MAY PRODUCE FLOODING IN LOW-LYING AND URBAN AREAS WHERE DRAINAGE IS POOR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE STATE FROM THE NORTHWEST TONIGHT... AND STALL OVER WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA THROUGH WEDNESDAY. STRONG SOUTHWESTERLY JETS OF WIND IN BOTH THE LOWER AND UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL COMBINE WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE IN PLACE TO PRODUCE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND STORMS. SOME OF THESE STORMS TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE... WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING STRONG STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND HAIL. THE FRONT WILL REMAINED STALLED AND WEAKEN OVER THE STATE THROUGH THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF THE SPOTTER NETWORKS MAY BE NEEDED AFTER 12 NOON TODAY. GIH
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 22, 5:15 PM EDT, 21 minutes before
NCZ021>024-038-039-222215- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 515 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003 ...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE WINSTON-SALEM... LEXINGTON... HIGH ROCK AREAS... AT 514 PM EDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH OUT OF SURRY... YADKIN... AND IREDELL COUNTIES. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE CLEMMONS AREA BEFORE 530 PM... AND WINSTON-SALEM BEFORE 545 PM. IN ADDITION... THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO MUCH OF DAVIDSON COUNTY INCLUDING HIGH ROCK LAKE AND LEXINGTON BETWEEN 530 PM AND 600 PM. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE FREQUENT LIGHTNING... VERY HEAVY RAIN FOR 20 TO 30 MINUTES... AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH. EVERYONE IN THE PIEDMONT TRIAD REGION... INCLUDING THE AFOREMENTIONED LOCATIONS SHOULD BE READY TO SEEK SHELTER INDOORS WHEN THUNDER IS FIRST HEARD. IF A WARNING IS ISSUED... SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM... AWAY FROM WINDOWS. THESE STORMS WILL AFFECT GREENSBORO... ASHEBORO... AND BURLINGTON BETWEEN 545 PM AND 645 PM. BADGETT
The office that day
Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 8:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Davidson | 58 min |
| Jul 22, 5:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Davidson | 54 min |
| Jul 22, 7:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Alamance | 50 min |
| Jul 22, 7:21 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Anson | 39 min |
| Jul 22, 7:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Orange, Person | 45 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.