Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 712

May 3, 200340 counties in North Carolina; 20 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 3, 2003, 6:15 PM EDT for 40 counties in North Carolina; 20 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 3, 2003, 6:15 PM EDT (22:15 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 2003, 8:15 PM EDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 60 counties

Alamance County, NC, Alexander County, NC, Anson County, NC, Burke County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Caldwell County, NC, Catawba County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Davie County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Henderson County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Iredell County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Polk County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Rutherford County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Stokes County, NC, Surry County, NC, Transylvania County, NC, Union County, NC, Wilkes County, NC, Yadkin County, NC, Anderson County, SC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Greenville County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Lee County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC, Richland County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Union County, SC, York County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 127 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:16 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 128 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°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 2003-05-03The 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.

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SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 2:57 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlexander, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke and 35 more3 hr
May 3, 3:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAlexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe and 31 more5 hr
May 3, 6:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAnson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Hoke, Mecklenburg, Montgomery and 7 more4 hr

Nearby

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