Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Wilmington, NC

February 18, 2008Bladen County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Feb 18, 2008, 3:26 AM EST for Bladen County, North Carolina. It was in force for 19 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: Feb 18, 2008, 3:26 AM EST (08:26 UTC)
Expired: Feb 18, 2008, 3:45 AM EST
In force: 19 min
Issued by: NWS Wilmington, NC
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Bladen County, NC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:29 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Feb 18, 2:30 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 144 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: 3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 992 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 159 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 164 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 180826
TORILM
NCC017-180845-
/O.NEW.KILM.TO.W.0002.080218T0826Z-080218T0845Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
326 AM EST MON FEB 18 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 345 AM EST

* AT 325 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR
  ELIZABETHTOWN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 60 MPH.

* THE TORNADO EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   ELIZABETHTOWN AT 330 AM...SMITHS CROSSROADS BY 340 AM...

GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. 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.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 AM EST MONDAY MORNING
FOR SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3482 7845 3478 7842 3474 7838 3471 7837
      3470 7834 3469 7834 3450 7860 3464 7875
      3485 7848
TIME...MOT...LOC 0826Z 228DEG 53KT 3463 7860

$$

TRA

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS52 KILM 180845
SVSILM

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
345 AM EST MON FEB 18 2008

NCC017-180915-
/O.EXP.KILM.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-080218T0845Z/
BLADEN NC-
345 AM EST MON FEB 18 2008

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHERN BLADEN COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT 345
AM EST...

AT 345 AM EST...DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR SHOWS THE POSSIBLE TORNADIC 
CIRCULATION IN NORTHERN BLADEN COUNTY HAS WEAKENED...BUT AN AREA OF 
STRONG WINDS UP TO 30 TO 50 MPH REMAINS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE EASTERN 
THIRD OF THE COUNTY THROUGH 415 AM...INCLUDING AREAS EAST OF WHITE 
LAKE TOWARD THE SAMPSON COUNTY BORDER. UNLESS YOU MUST VENTURE 
OUTSIDE...REMAIN INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF YOU OBSERVED SEVERE WEATHER OR WEATHER RELATED DAMAGE...PLEASE 
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 1100 AM EST MONDAY MORNING 
FOR SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA. 
ADDITIONAL STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATER 
THIS MORNING.

LAT...LON 3482 7845 3478 7842 3474 7838 3471 7837
      3470 7834 3469 7834 3450 7860 3464 7875
      3485 7848
TIME...MOT...LOC 0842Z 228DEG 53KT 3479 7839

$$

TRA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 18, 2:45 AM EST	Tornado Warning	ILM	Robeson	30 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes in 2008

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.