Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 616
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 2, 2003, 2:20 AM EDT for 16 counties in North Carolina; 10 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 2, 2003, 2:20 AM EDT (06:20 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 2, 2003, 9:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 26 counties
Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pender County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Berkeley County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Horry County, SC, Marion County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC
The radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:20 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.
Warnings issued inside it
1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 6:13 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Marion | 62 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 00:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 127 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
- 257 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -19 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 769 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 111 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 287 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 020626
SEL6
SPC WW 020620
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-021300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 616
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
220 AM EDT WED JUL 2 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA
EAST SOUTH CAROLINA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 220 AM UNTIL 900 AM EDT.
TORNADOES...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF CHARLESTON SOUTH
CAROLINA TO 35 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF JACKSONVILLE 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 615. WATCH NUMBER 615 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 220
AM EDT.
DISCUSSION...PRIMARY LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS BEEN PERSISTENT
WITHIN CONVERGENT BAND NOW LIFTING OUT OF CENTRAL SC. THE AIR MASS
INTO SERN NC IS SLOWLY DESTABILIZING...WITH SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND
DEW POINTS IN THE LOWER TO MID 70SF...SUGGESTING TORNADO THREAT WILL
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS GIVEN THE PRONOUNCED LOW LEVEL
SHEAR/HELICITY ALREADY IN PLACE.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23030.
...EVANS
323,0804 351,0791 351,0762 323,0780SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 5:32 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin and 10 more | 58 min |
| Jul 2, 7:52 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Chowan and 23 more | 53 min |
| Jul 2, 8:15 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Chowan, Columbus and 18 more | 6 hr |
| Jul 2, 10:49 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Columbus, Jones, Pender | 116 min |
| Jul 2, 2:26 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Chatham, Columbus, Cumberland and 18 more | 2 hr |
| Jul 2, 2:55 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin and 19 more | 5 hr |
| Jul 2, 6:22 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anson, Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus and 27 more | 53 min |
| Jul 2, 7:50 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Camden, Carteret, Chowan and 31 more | 5 hr |
| Jul 1, 8:12 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley and 12 more | 2 hr |
| Jul 1, 9:55 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley and 18 more | 6 hr |
| Jul 2, 12:25 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley and 20 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2003Tornado Watches in South 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.