Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2005

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Wilmington, NC

August 18, 2005Columbus County, North Carolina; Horry County, South Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Aug 18, 2005, 1:13 PM EDT for Columbus County, North Carolina; Horry County, South Carolina. It was in force for 42 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 18, 2005, 1:13 PM EDT (17:13 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 2005, 1:55 PM EDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Columbus County, NC, Horry County, SC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:16 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 5.2 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2005-08-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1014 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2005-08-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1014 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-56 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
766 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 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 181717
TORILM
NCC047-SCC051-181800-
/O.NEW.KILM.TO.W.0003.050818T1713Z-050818T1800Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
113 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN HORRY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA
  WESTERN COLUMBUS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 200 PM EDT

* AT 112 PM EDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND PRODUCING
  DAMAGE AT THE NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTH CAROLINA STATE LINE NEAR
  STATE HIGHWAY 904 AND GREEN SEA ROAD. THIS TORNADO IS NEARLY STATIONARY.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  FAIR BLUFF AT 120 PM.
  
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
STURDY 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.

LAT...LON 3420 7883 3433 7890 3427 7907 3416 7901

$$

JAQ
2 follow-up statements
000 
WWUS52 KILM 181740
SVSILM

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
137 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2005

NCC047-SCC051-181800-
/O.CON.KILM.TO.W.0003.000000T0000Z-050818T1800Z/
COLUMBUS NC-HORRY SC-
137 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 200 PM EDT FOR HORRY AND
COLUMBUS COUNTIES...

AT 134 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION.  THIS POSSIBLE TORNADO 
WAS LOCATED 7 MILES SOUTH OF CERRO GORDO...OR 16 MILES EAST OF MULLINS. 
THIS POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS WAS NEARLY STATIONARY.

THE POSSIBLE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
   CERRO GORDO BY 200 PM

THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND NEAR THE STATE LINE SHORTLY
AFTER 105 PM...IN THE VICINITY OF STATE HIGHWAY 904 AND GREEN SEA ROAD.
NO FURTHER REPORTS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
BUT DOPPLER RADAR STILL INDICATES STRONG ROTATION WITH THIS STORM. THIS 
MEANS THAT IF THE TORNADO IS NOT CURRENTLY ON THE GROUND...IT COULD REDEVELOP
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.

LAT...LON 3420 7883 3433 7890 3427 7907 3416 7901

$$

JAQ
000 
WWUS52 KILM 181755
SVSILM

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
154 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2005

NCC047-SCC051-181804-
/O.CAN.KILM.TO.W.0003.000000T0000Z-050818T1800Z/
COLUMBUS NC-HORRY SC-
154 PM EDT THU AUG 18 2005

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR HORRY AND COLUMBUS COUNTIES IS
CANCELLED...

AT 151 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT THE
THUNDERSTORM WHICH REPORTEDLY PRODUCED A TORNADO AND PROMPTED THE 
WARNING HAS WEAKENED. THEREFORE...THE TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN 
CANCELLED. 

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.

LAT...LON 3420 7883 3433 7890 3427 7907 3416 7901

$$

JAQ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 9:12 AM EDTMarine Weather StatementILM108 min
Aug 18, 1:33 PM EDTTornado WarningILMGeorgetown46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2005Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 2005Every tornado warning in 2005Tornadoes in 2005

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.