Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Raleigh, NC

May 2, 2003Davidson County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at May 2, 2003, 6:34 PM EDT for Davidson County, North Carolina. It was in force for 26 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 2, 2003, 6:34 PM EDT (22:34 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2003, 7:00 PM EDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Davidson County, NC

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:37 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 2, 4:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 29 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 2003-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 66 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 2003-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -28 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
66 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-126 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1115 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
49 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.

928 
WFUS52 KRAH 022234
TORRAH
NCC057-022300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
633 PM EDT FRI MAY 2 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN DAVIDSON COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 700 PM EDT

* AT 633 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 7 MILES WEST OF THOMASVILLE...OR ABOUT 9 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  LEXINGTON...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

THE WEATHER SERVICE HAS A GROUND REPORT OF A TORNADO JUST WEST OF 
THOMASVILLE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35 MPH.

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 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM EDT
FRIDAY EVENING FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3601 8026 3584 8026 3583 8005 3604 8004

$$

14

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 5:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDavidson, Forsyth44 min
May 2, 5:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHStanly22 min
May 2, 6:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHAnson, Montgomery, Richmond34 min
May 2, 6:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHDavidson, Forsyth43 min
May 2, 6:39 PM EDTTornado WarningRAHForsyth36 min
May 2, 6:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHGuilford, Randolph50 min
May 2, 6:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHMoore, Scotland47 min
May 2, 7:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHRichmond15 min
May 2, 7:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHoke30 min
May 2, 7:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHCumberland37 min
May 2, 7:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHarnett, Lee32 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.