Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 752
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 14, 2004, 3:30 AM EDT for Jenkins County, Screven County, Georgia; 31 counties in North Carolina; 22 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 10 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 14, 2004, 3:30 AM EDT (07:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 14, 2004, 1:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 10 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 55 counties
Jenkins County, GA, Screven County, GA, Beaufort County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Dare County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Greene County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lee County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pender County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Wake County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Allendale County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Berkeley County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Horry County, SC, Lee County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Sumter County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC
The radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:31 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 8:00 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CHS | Charleston | 44 days |
| Aug 14, 8:13 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Jones | 32 min |
| Aug 14, 9:53 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | CHS | Charleston | 37 min |
| Aug 14, 10:04 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Carteret | 41 min |
| Aug 14, 12:31 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Onslow | 29 min |
| Aug 14, 1:00 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Onslow | 30 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, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 128 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
- 667 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -16 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 622 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -4 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 140733
SEL2
SPC WW 140730
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-141700-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 752
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
330 AM EDT SAT AUG 14 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
CENTRAL AND EASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 330 AM UNTIL
100 PM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 100 STATUTE MILES EAST AND
WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF CHARLESTON SOUTH
CAROLINA TO 55 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.
DISCUSSION...HURRICANE CHARLEY CONTINUES LIFTING QUICKLY NWD AT
AROUND 25 KT JUST OFF THE GA COAST ATTM. AS SYSTEM APPROACHES THE
CAROLINAS... LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL INCREASE DRAMATICALLY WITH A
HEIGHTENED THREAT OF TORNADOES ALONG AND EAST/NORTHEAST OF THE
EVENTUAL TRACK. IN ADDITION...SURFACE FRONT REMAINS
QUASI-STATIONARY IN A NNE-SSW ORIENTATION ACROSS THE CENTRAL
CAROLINAS. THIS MAY PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FOCUS FOR A FEW TORNADOES AS
AIR MASS DESTABILIZES AND SHEAR INCREASES THROUGH THE MORNING.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 15025.
...EVANS
324,0821 355,0785 355,0751 324,0785SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2:05 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin and 10 more | 115 min |
| Aug 14, 8:37 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret and 40 more | 113 min |
| Aug 14, 11:30 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan and 21 more | 10 hr |
| Aug 14, 2:34 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 14 more | 116 min |
| Aug 14, 6:28 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Camden, Currituck, Dare, Pasquotank | 92 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2004Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2004Tornado Watches in Georgia, 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.