Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Raleigh, NC

May 3, 2003Montgomery County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at May 3, 2003, 7:00 PM EDT for Montgomery County, North Carolina. It was in force for 45 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 3, 2003, 7:00 PM EDT (23:00 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 2003, 7:45 PM EDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Montgomery County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 144 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:03 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
May 3, 3:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr
May 3, 6:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 92 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 2003-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2003-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -29 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
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-94 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1075 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

163 
WFUS52 KRAH 032300
TORRAH
NCC123-032345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
700 PM EDT SAT MAY 3 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 745 PM EDT

* AT 700 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF MOUNT GILEAD...OR ABOUT 8 MILES SOUTHWEST
  OF TROY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...
  MOUNT GILEAD
  PEKIN

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.

LAT...LON 3514 8003 3523 8008 3532 8008 3537 8003
          3540 7996 3518 7976

$$

12/14

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 8:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHPerson24 min
May 3, 4:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHForsyth24 min
May 3, 5:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDavidson40 min
May 3, 5:21 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHDavidson24 min
May 3, 5:44 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHDavidson16 min
May 3, 5:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHRandolph44 min
May 3, 5:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHRichmond47 min
May 3, 6:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDavidson14 min
May 3, 6:15 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHDavidson30 min
May 3, 6:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHStanly25 min
May 3, 6:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHScotland23 min
May 3, 6:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHMontgomery49 min
May 3, 6:40 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHScotland35 min
May 3, 6:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHStanly23 min
May 3, 7:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHScotland30 min
May 3, 7:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHStanly41 min
May 3, 7:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHRichmond51 min
May 3, 7:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHAnson49 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.