Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 618
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 2, 2003, 8:15 AM EDT for 24 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 2, 2003, 8:15 AM EDT (12:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 2, 2003, 2:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 24 counties
Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Greene County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pender County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC
The radar
The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:16 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.
Warnings issued inside it
6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 10:07 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | ILM | Bladen, Columbus, Robeson | 4 hr |
| Jul 2, 12:11 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen, Columbus | 49 min |
| Jul 2, 12:24 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Onslow | 36 min |
| Jul 2, 1:00 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Onslow | 30 min |
| Jul 2, 1:10 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | MHX | Onslow | 2 hr |
| Jul 2, 1:21 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Pender | 24 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
Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 90 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
- 1421 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 199 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 341 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 021214
SEL8
SPC WW 021215
NCZ000-CWZ000-021800-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 618
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
815 AM EDT WED JUL 2 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 815 AM UNTIL
200 PM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 40 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES WEST OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA TO 80
MILES NORTHEAST OF NEW BERN 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 616. WATCH NUMBER 616 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 815
AM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 617...
DISCUSSION...SURFACE LOW WILL CONTINUE LIFTING NNEWD ACROSS WRN
NC...WITH WARM FRONT SHIFTING SLOWLY NWD ALONG THE NC COAST THIS
MORNING. THIS SHOULD SUPPORT NARROW AXIS OF MARGINAL TO MODERATE
INSTABILITY... LIFTING NORTH ACROSS ERN NC. GIVEN THE DEGREE OF LOW
LEVEL SHEAR...TORNADO THREAT IS LIKEWISE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO
ERN NC THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22030.
...EVANS
344,0791 362,0762 352,0754 334,0783SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 2:20 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin and 10 more | 7 hr |
| 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, 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 |
Nearby
Tornado 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.