Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Raleigh, NC

March 4, 2008Person County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Mar 4, 2008, 5:15 PM EST for Person County, North Carolina. It was in force for 15 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: Mar 4, 2008, 5:15 PM EST (22:15 UTC)
Expired: Mar 4, 2008, 5:30 PM EST
In force: 15 min
Issued by: NWS Raleigh, NC
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Person County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 108 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:18 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
Mar 4, 4:31 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 85 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: -31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 619 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 298 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 354 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 KRAH 042215
TORRAH
NCC145-042230-
/O.NEW.KRAH.TO.W.0004.080304T2215Z-080304T2230Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
515 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN PERSON COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 530 PM EST

* AT 513 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER EAST CENTRAL CASWELL COUNTY...OR ABOUT 8 MILES SOUTH
  OF MILTON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  THE HYCO LAKE AREA

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE
BUILDING IN A SMALL ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET OR BATHROOM OR IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM
FLYING DEBRIS. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND EXTERIOR WALLS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR
CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3637 7914 3655 7915 3656 7914 3656 7912
      3656 7900 3654 7900
TIME...MOT...LOC 2215Z 206DEG 43KT 3644 7918

$$

GIH

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS52 KRAH 042225
SVSRAH

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
525 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

NCC145-042230-
/O.CON.KRAH.TO.W.0004.000000T0000Z-080304T2230Z/
PERSON NC-
525 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 530 PM EST FOR
NORTHWESTERN PERSON COUNTY...

AT 522 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR CONCORD...OR ABOUT
7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MILTON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL OTHERWISE REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF THE 
INDICATED COUNTY...INCLUDING THE LAKE HYCO RECREATIONAL AREA.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST WEDNESDAY
MORNING FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3637 7914 3655 7915 3656 7914 3656 7912
      3656 7900 3654 7900
TIME...MOT...LOC 2225Z 224DEG 39KT 3651 7908

$$

VINCENT

000 
WWUS52 KRAH 042231
SVSRAH

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
530 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

NCC145-042240-
/O.EXP.KRAH.TO.W.0004.000000T0000Z-080304T2230Z/
PERSON NC-
530 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHWESTERN PERSON COUNTY EXPIRES AT 530
PM EST...

THE STORM THAT PROMPTED THE TORNADO WARNING IS MOVING OUT OF PERSON 
COUNTY INTO HALIFAX COUNTY VIRGINIA...THEREFORE THE TORNADO WARNING 
FOR PERSON COUNTY WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR CENTRAL 
NORTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3637 7914 3655 7915 3656 7914 3656 7912
      3656 7900 3654 7900
TIME...MOT...LOC 2230Z 216DEG 34KT 3656 7907

$$

VINCENT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 4, 3:39 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Johnston	36 min
Mar 4, 4:04 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Guilford, Randolph	41 min
Mar 4, 4:34 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Alamance	26 min
Mar 4, 4:51 PM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Alamance	9 min
Mar 4, 5:29 PM EST	Tornado Warning	RAH	Orange	31 min
Mar 4, 5:43 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Durham, Orange	34 min
Mar 4, 5:57 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RAH	Granville, Person	48 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.