Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 845
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 27, 2004, 9:10 PM EDT for 21 counties in North Carolina; 17 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 27, 2004, 9:10 PM EDT (01:10 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 28, 2004, 4:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 38 counties
Anson County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Pender County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Union County, NC, Wake County, NC, Berkeley County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Horry County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Lee County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Sumter County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC, York County, SC
The radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:09 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
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 27, 11:31 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg, Union | 4 hr |
| Sep 28, 12:33 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RAH | Stanly | 3 hr |
| Sep 28, 12:40 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CAE | Chesterfield | 3 hr |
| Sep 28, 2:56 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Cumberland | 49 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, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 178 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
- 2099 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 482 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 261 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 275 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.5
- Supercell composite
- 20.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 280112
SEL5
SPC WW 280110
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-280800-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 845
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
910 PM EDT MON SEP 27 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA
CENTRAL AND EASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 910 PM UNTIL
400 AM EDT.
TORNADOES...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF FLORENCE SOUTH CAROLINA
TO 40 MILES NORTH OF WILMINGTON 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 844. WATCH NUMBER 844 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 910
PM EDT.
DISCUSSION...PRIMARY TORNADO THREAT EXPECTED TO BE WITH LINE OF
STORMS MOVING NEWD ACROSS SC INTO SERN NC. SHEAR ALONG/AHEAD OF THIS
LINE REMAINS VERY FAVORABLE FOR SMALL TORNADIC SUPERCELLS WITH AIR
MASS ACROSS WATCH MODERATELY UNSTABLE WITH MID 70S DEWPOINTS
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 16035.
...HALES
345,0811 360,0782 334,0772 324,0800SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 12:46 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Chatham, Columbus and 16 more | 89 min |
| Sep 28, 2:59 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Harnett, Johnston, Lee and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Sep 28, 8:56 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank, Tyrrell | 2 hr |
| Sep 28, 11:25 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Halifax, Hertford and 3 more | 6 hr |
| Sep 28, 1:49 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Halifax, Hertford and 3 more | 116 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2004Tornado Watches in South 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.