Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 745
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 12, 2004, 2:25 PM EDT for 45 counties in North Carolina; 57 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 12, 2004, 2:25 PM EDT (18:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 12, 2004, 8:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 102 counties
Alamance County, NC, Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Camden County, NC, Caswell County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Davie County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Gates County, NC, Granville County, NC, Greene County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Martin County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Orange County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Person County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Stokes County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Amelia County, VA, Amherst County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Bedford County, VA, Botetourt County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Buckingham County, VA, Campbell County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Charlotte County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Lynchburg, VA, City of Martinsville, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Norfolk, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Portsmouth, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Roanoke, VA, City of Salem, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Virginia Beach, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Cumberland County, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Franklin County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Halifax County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Henry County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, James City County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mathews County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Middlesex County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Northampton County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Patrick County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Powhatan County, VA, Prince Edward County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:28 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
10 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2:34 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RAH | Forsyth | 116 min |
| Aug 12, 2:51 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Forsyth | 24 min |
| Aug 12, 3:20 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Brunswick | 25 min |
| Aug 12, 3:30 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Rockingham | 30 min |
| Aug 12, 3:46 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Harnett | 44 min |
| Aug 12, 4:05 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Caswell, Rockingham | 40 min |
| Aug 12, 4:12 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RAH | Durham, Wake | 108 min |
| Aug 12, 4:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Johnston | 42 min |
| Aug 12, 4:26 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Caswell, Rockingham | 34 min |
| Aug 12, 4:55 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RAH | Franklin | 95 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
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 124 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
- 634 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 701 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 47 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 66 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 1.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 121825
SEL5
SPC WW 121825
NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-130000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 745
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
ISSUED BY AFWA OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE BELLEVUE NE
225 PM EDT THU AUG 12 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NORTH CAROLINA
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 225 PM UNTIL
800 PM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 140 STATUTE MILES EAST AND
WEST OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF RICHMOND VIRGINIA TO 25
MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF GOLDSBORO 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 743...WW 744...
DISCUSSION...TORNADO THREAT EXPECTED TO INCREASE AS MESO LOW NEAR
CHARLOTTE/NC MOVES NEWD THROUGH CENTRAL NC AND EVENTUALLY INTO SRN
VA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.
...AFWA
373,0745 351,0755 351,0805 373,0800SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 10:02 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Columbus, Pender, Robeson | 88 min |
| Aug 12, 11:45 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland and 12 more | 6 hr |
| Aug 12, 1:34 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Caswell, Chatham and 28 more | 86 min |
| Aug 12, 4:06 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden and 49 more | 84 min |
| Aug 12, 5:55 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender | 65 min |
| Aug 12, 6:47 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates and 7 more | 58 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2004Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2004Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.