Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Wilmington, NC

September 7, 2004Columbus County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Sep 7, 2004, 1:22 PM EDT for Columbus County, North Carolina. It was in force for 53 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Sep 7, 2004, 1:22 PM EDT (17:22 UTC)
Expired: Sep 7, 2004, 2:15 PM EDT
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Wilmington, NC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Columbus County, NC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:21 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Sep 7, 1:38 PM EDT	TORNADO 1	2 Ese Cerro Gordo, NC	PATH LENGTH 10 MILES...PATH WIDTH 40 YARDS. SPOTTY DAMAGE OCCURRED ALONG PATH. 3 HOMES OR BUISINESSES DESTROYED...4 DAMAGED. TORNADO CONTINUED INTO ROBESON COUNTY.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 187 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2597 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 466 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 0 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 0 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS52 KILM 071722
TORILM
NCC047-071815-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
120 PM EDT TUE SEP 7 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  COLUMBUS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 215 PM EDT

* AT 117 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  POSSIBLE DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR CHERRY GROVE...OR OVER TABOR CITY...
  MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   CHERRY GROVE BY 125 PM...
   CHADBOURN BY 135 PM...
   CERRO GORDO BY 140 PM...
   EVERGREEN BY 155 PM...

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

IF YOU OBSERVED SEVERE WEATHER OR WEATHER RELATED DAMAGE...REPORT IT
TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND ASK THEM TO RELAY THE
REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN WILMINGTON
NC.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 PM EDT TUESDAY AFTERNOON
FOR NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA. A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 700 PM EDT TUESDAY EVENING FOR NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3444 7881 3417 7876 3416 7879 3415 7886
      3415 7888 3425 7901 3431 7903 3434 7903
      3439 7900 3441 7896 3444 7895 3447 7888

$$

HAWKINS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 7, 1:55 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Robeson	50 min
Sep 7, 2:43 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Robeson	62 min
Sep 7, 5:20 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Robeson	55 min
Sep 7, 6:16 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Robeson	44 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.