Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 24, NWS Raleigh, NC

August 5, 2003Montgomery County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Aug 5, 2003, 6:21 PM EDT for Montgomery 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
Aug 5, 2003, 6:21 PM EDT (22:21 UTC)
Expired
Aug 5, 2003, 7:00 PM EDT
In force
39 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), 131 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:20 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
Aug 5, 1:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 96 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 2003-08-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 249 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 2003-08-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 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
249 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-125 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
963 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

547 
WFUS52 KRAH 052221
TORRAH
NCC123-052300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
621 PM EDT TUE AUG 5 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 700 PM EDT

* AT 621 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER PEKIN...OR ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTH OF TROY...MOVING EAST
  AT 15 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...  
RURAL SOUTHERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY...
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. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND EXTERIOR WALLS AS FLYING DEBRIS
GENERATED BY TORNADIC WINDS CAN BE DEADLY.

IN ADDITION TO THE THREAT OF A TORNADO...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND DEADLY LIGHTNING CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM. GO TO A SAFE PLACE NOW

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND ASK
THEM TO RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN RALEIGH.

LAT...LON 3528 7988 3516 7999 3515 7976 3521 7965

$$

DGS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 8:20 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHGuilford3 hr
Aug 4, 8:37 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHRandolph, Stanly3 hr
Aug 4, 9:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHMontgomery3 hr
Aug 4, 10:03 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHAlamance, Randolph2 hr
Aug 4, 10:27 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHChatham3 hr
Aug 4, 11:12 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHGuilford2 hr
Aug 5, 12:55 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHRichmond, Scotland3 hr
Aug 5, 4:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHForsyth44 min
Aug 5, 5:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHRichmond57 min
Aug 5, 5:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHMontgomery53 min
Aug 5, 6:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHMoore62 min
Aug 5, 6:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHGuilford30 min
Aug 5, 6:47 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRAHMontgomery118 min
Aug 5, 7:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDavidson43 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.