Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 620
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 2, 2003, 2:55 PM EDT for 25 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 2, 2003, 2:55 PM EDT (18:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 2, 2003, 8:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 25 counties
Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Greene County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Nash County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pender County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC
The radar
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:59 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
7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 3:14 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Harnett | 31 min |
| Jul 2, 3:37 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Craven | 38 min |
| Jul 2, 4:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Johnston | 44 min |
| Jul 2, 5:20 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Sampson | 40 min |
| Jul 2, 6:41 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen | 64 min |
| Jul 2, 7:06 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin | 24 min |
| Jul 2, 7:46 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Robeson | 29 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, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 147 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 021851
SEL0
SPC WW 021855
NCZ000-CWZ000-030000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 620
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
255 PM 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 AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 255 PM UNTIL
800 PM EDT.
TORNADOES...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF FAYETTEVILLE NORTH
CAROLINA TO 40 MILES NORTH 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...CONTINUE...WW 619...
DISCUSSION...LOW LEVEL VEERING SHEAR PROFILES REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADIC SUPERCELLS ACROSS ERN NC. UNSTABLE AIRMASS IS RECOVERING
NEWD TO E OF SFC LOW OVER CENTRAL NC...THUS ISOLATED TORNADOES
REMAIN LIKELY AS THESE CONDITIONS SPREAD SLOWLY NEWD ACROSS ERN NC.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22030.
...HALES
345,0794 361,0773 345,0763 333,0783SPC 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, 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, 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.