Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 1139

May 29, 200346 counties in North Carolina; Darlington County, Dillon County, Marlboro County, South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 29, 2003, 5:53 PM EDT for 46 counties in North Carolina; Darlington County, Dillon County, Marlboro County, South Carolina. It was in force for 97 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 29, 2003, 5:53 PM EDT (21:53 UTC)
Expired: May 29, 2003, 7:30 PM EDT
In force: 97 min
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 49 counties

Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Camden County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Craven County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Granville County, NC, Greene County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lee County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Moore County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Pender County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Marlboro County, SC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:55 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

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 114 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 215 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1023 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 128 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 198 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

334 
ACUS11 KWNS 292153
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 292153 
NCZ000-SCZ000-292330-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1139
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0453 PM CDT THU MAY 29 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...ERN NC

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 436...

VALID 292153Z - 292330Z

ISOLATED LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING WIND THREAT PERSISTS ACROSS ERN
PORTIONS OF WW0436.

LATEST MESOANALYSIS SHOWS WEAK SURFACE LOW INVOF ORF WITH A TRAILING
COLD FRONT THAT EXTENDS SWWD TO NEAR FAY. IN ADDITION...WILMINGTON
AND MOREHEAD CITY 88D REFLECTIVITY DATA SHOW A SURFACE BOUNDARY
SLOWLY LIFTING NWWD FROM CRAVEN COUNTY SWWD INTO COLUMBUS COUNTY.
SURFACE DEWPOINTS OF 60 TO 65F AHEAD OF COLD FRONT BENEATH
RELATIVELY COOL MID-LEVEL TEMPERATURES /-16 TO -17C AT 500MB/ HAVE
CONTRIBUTED TO A MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIRMASS WITH MLCAPES OF
1000-1500 J/KG. LATEST MOREHEAD CITY VWP INDICATES UNDIRECTIONAL
SWLY WINDS THROUGH THE LOWEST 8 OR 9KM AGL WITH AROUND 40KTS OF
DEEP-LAYER SHEAR.

TSTMS OVER EDGECOMBE COUNTY SWWD INTO ROBESON COUNTY HAVE DEVELOPED
ON THE NOSE OF VORTICITY CENTER /EVIDENT ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY/
WHERE FORCING FOR LARGE-SCALE ASCENT IS BEING MAXIMIZED. GIVEN THE
MODERATE DEGREE OF INSTABILITY AND WIND SHEAR...AS WELL AS LOW-LEVEL
CONVERGENCE ALONG AFOREMENTIONED BOUNDARIES...THE THREAT OF LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL PERSIST AS THESE STORMS PROGRESS EWD
ACROSS ERN PORTIONS OF WW0436. ISOLATED LARGE HAIL/WIND THREAT ALSO
EXISTS WITH STORMS CLOSER TO THE COAST FROM PAMLICO INTO CRAVEN
COUNTY.

..MEAD.. 05/29/2003

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...AKQ...MHX...RAH...ILM...CAE...

34917987 35487949 35987910 36377878 36497866 36477858
36507851 36507801 36417614 36417536 36477510 36437511
36337523 35537583 34977622 34497668 34347679 34287683
34287698 34277883 34317990 34308024 34318031 34458021

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 29, 11:22 AM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 15 more	113 min
May 29, 1:56 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Anson, Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Harnett, Hoke and 10 more	2 hr
May 29, 3:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Camden, Carteret, Chowan and 41 more	5 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2003 Mesoscale Discussions in South Carolina, 2003 Every mesoscale discussion 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.