Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Raleigh, NC

July 2, 2003Moore County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 2, 2003, 1:29 PM EDT for Moore County, North Carolina. It was in force for 46 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 2, 2003, 1:29 PM EDT (17:29 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 2003, 2:15 PM EDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Moore County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:32 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 5.5 hours before the alert went out and 106 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 2003-07-02Temperature 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°0°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 2003-07-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 324 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
573 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
324 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
511 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.

923 
WFUS52 KRAH 021729
TORRAH
NCC125-021815-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
129 PM EDT WED JUL 2 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN MOORE COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 215 PM EDT

* AT 129 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER SOUTHERN PINES...OR ABOUT 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  SOUTHERN PINES...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  WHISPERING PINES AROUND 135 PM
  VASS AROUND 145 PM
  CAMERON AROUND 200 PM

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 200 PM EDT WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3510 7943 3521 7956 3541 7934 3530 7918

$$

17

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 2, 2:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHoke, Scotland30 min
Jul 2, 2:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHarnett, Lee41 min
Jul 2, 3:14 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHHarnett31 min
Jul 2, 4:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHJohnston44 min
Jul 2, 5:20 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHSampson40 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.