Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Raleigh, NC

February 22, 2003Alamance County, Randolph County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Feb 22, 2003, 11:43 AM EST for Alamance County, Randolph County, North Carolina. It was in force for 32 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
Feb 22, 2003, 11:43 AM EST (16:43 UTC)
Expired
Feb 22, 2003, 12:15 PM EST
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Alamance County, NC, Randolph County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:45 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Feb 22, 9:45 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 45 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2003-02-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2003-02-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 705 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
483 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
705 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
845 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

123 
WFUS52 KRAH 221643
TORRAH
NCC001-151-221715-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1143 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
  SOUTHERN ALAMANCE COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1215 PM EST

* AT 1143 AM EST...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO OVER
  LIBERTY...OR ABOUT 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF SILER CITY...MOVING EAST
  AT 60 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  LIBERTY AT 1145 AM
  SNOW CAMP AT 1150 AM
  SAXAPAHAW AT 1155 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.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM EST SATURDAY AFTERNOON
FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3603 7926 3586 7925 3586 7952 3578 7958
          3588 7963 3588 7954 3595 7952

$$

&

14

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 22, 10:39 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHAnson, Stanly51 min
Feb 22, 11:09 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHMontgomery, Randolph36 min
Feb 22, 11:21 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRAHForsyth, Guilford54 min
Feb 22, 11:36 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHAlamance, Chatham24 min
Feb 22, 11:55 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHChatham, Orange35 min
Feb 22, 12:05 PM ESTTornado WarningRAHDurham, Orange25 min
Feb 22, 12:11 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRAHDavidson, Forsyth, Guilford3 hr
Feb 22, 12:22 PM ESTTornado WarningRAHGranville23 min
Feb 22, 12:26 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHLee, Moore34 min
Feb 22, 12:33 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHWake42 min
Feb 22, 12:39 PM ESTTornado WarningRAHVance36 min
Feb 22, 12:54 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHWarren36 min
Feb 22, 1:57 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHNash33 min
Feb 22, 2:12 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHEdgecombe, Wilson33 min
Feb 22, 3:03 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHSampson27 min
Feb 22, 3:24 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHWayne36 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.