Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2008
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 310
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 11, 2008, 7:47 PM EDT for 26 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 11, 2008, 7:47 PM EDT (23:47 UTC)
- Expired
- May 11, 2008, 10:59 PM EDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 26 counties
Alamance County, NC, Anson County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Nash County, NC, Orange County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Wake County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC
The radar
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:46 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.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 20%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 5%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 20%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 70%
Warnings issued inside it
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 7:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph | 39 min |
| May 11, 8:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Alamance, Chatham, Davidson, Guilford, Randolph | 41 min |
| May 11, 10:06 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Harnett, Johnston, Wayne, Wilson | 54 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
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 99 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 951 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 63 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 34 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 262 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 112346
SEL0
SPC WW 112346
NCZ000-120300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 310
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
745 PM EDT SUN MAY 11 2008
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY EVENING FROM 745 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT.
HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 70
STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES NORTHEAST OF
RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA TO 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FAYETTEVILLE
NORTH CAROLINA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).
REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR 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. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 307. WATCH NUMBER 307 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT
AFTER 745 PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 308...WW 309...
DISCUSSION...COMPLEX SETUP ACROSS NC THIS EVENING WITH STRONG UPPER
SYSTEM AND COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT MAINTAINING THUNDERSTORMS
SPREADING EWD ACROSS THE STATE...DESPITE EARLIER THUNDERSTORM
ACTIVITY MOVING ACROSS ERN NC. IN WAKE OF SURFACE LOW AND LEADING
TROUGH OVER ERN NC EARLY THIS EVENING...WLY WINDS AND DRYING SURFACE
CONDITIONS APPEAR TO HAVE LIMITED TORNADO POTENTIAL OVER CENTRAL NC.
HOWEVER...VERY STEEP LAPSE RATES AND 35-45 KT EFFECTIVE SHEAR
SHOULD STILL SUPPORT A FEW SUPERCELLS/ORGANIZED CLUSTERS WITH
PRIMARY THREATS OF LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED DAMAGING WINDS FOR A FEW
MORE HOURS.
AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 27035.
...EVANSSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 9:34 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Graham, Haywood, Madison and 4 more | 26 min |
| May 11, 9:52 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Avery, Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood and 8 more | 6 hr |
| May 11, 1:39 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick and 49 more | 2 hr |
| May 11, 2:07 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Alexander, Anson, Bladen, Cabarrus, Caswell and 43 more | 6 hr |
| May 11, 2:33 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ashe, Watauga | 57 min |
| May 11, 4:18 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Chatham, Chowan, Cumberland and 26 more | 87 min |
| May 11, 4:43 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret and 23 more | 6 hr |
| May 11, 7:30 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan and 20 more | 90 min |
| May 10, 8:14 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley and 6 more | 2 hr |
| May 10, 9:54 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and 1 more | 96 min |
| May 10, 10:06 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, Jasper | 7 hr |
| May 11, 2:06 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Edgefield, Hampton and 2 more | 84 min |
| May 11, 2:37 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley and 12 more | 7 hr |
| May 11, 4:40 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort and 14 more | 95 min |
| May 11, 7:24 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley and 13 more | 96 min |
| May 11, 8:51 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun and 5 more | 84 min |
| May 11, 2:42 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Jasper | 5 hr |
| May 11, 7:06 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Jasper | 84 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Carolina, 2008Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.