Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 450
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 31, 2003, 2:55 PM EDT for 7 counties in North Carolina; 16 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 31, 2003, 2:55 PM EDT (18:55 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 2003, 8:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 23 counties
Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Columbus County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Pender County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Calhoun County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Horry County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Lee County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Sumter County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC
The radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 108 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:58 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.
Warnings issued inside it
21 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 3:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Kershaw | 36 min |
| May 31, 3:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Robeson | 59 min |
| May 31, 3:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Scotland | 14 min |
| May 31, 3:39 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Darlington | 51 min |
| May 31, 3:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen | 61 min |
| May 31, 3:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Lee | 30 min |
| May 31, 3:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Lee | 26 min |
| May 31, 4:12 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen | 33 min |
| May 31, 4:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Florence, Marlboro | 57 min |
| May 31, 4:32 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Dillon, Marion | 58 min |
| May 31, 4:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen | 66 min |
| May 31, 4:48 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Columbus, Pender | 57 min |
| May 31, 4:53 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Marion | 37 min |
| May 31, 5:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Horry | 57 min |
| May 31, 5:07 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 53 min |
| May 31, 5:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | New Hanover | 73 min |
| May 31, 6:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Robeson | 57 min |
| May 31, 6:52 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen | 38 min |
| May 31, 7:04 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen | 26 min |
| May 31, 7:41 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Pender | 49 min |
| May 31, 7:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen, Robeson | 52 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 158 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1585 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 64 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 148 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 311855
SEL0
SPC WW 311855
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-010000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 450
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
255 PM EDT SAT MAY 31 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 255 PM UNTIL
800 PM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES WEST OF FLORENCE SOUTH CAROLINA TO
25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 447...WW 448...WW 449...
DISCUSSION...AIRMASS HAS BECOME VERY UNSTABLE SC INTO SRN NC AHEAD
OF VIGOROUS UPPER TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED WIND MAX. WITH THE VEERING
PROFILES TORNADIC SUPERCELL ENVIRONMENT IS IN PLACE. STORMS
EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY NC/SC BORDER AND MOVE E/SEWD.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26040.
...HALES
345,0805 344,0773 331,0773 332,0805SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 12:50 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland and 16 more | 115 min |
| May 31, 1:25 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Craven, Edgecombe and 16 more | 2 hr |
| May 31, 2:05 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Cabarrus, Camden and 57 more | 6 hr |
| May 31, 2:41 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Columbus, Robeson | 2 hr |
| May 31, 4:37 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Bladen, Chatham, Craven, Cumberland and 36 more | 113 min |
| May 31, 6:12 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland and 29 more | 93 min |
| May 31, 6:37 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Halifax and 6 more | 83 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2003Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2003Every tornado watch 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.