Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 175, NWS Raleigh, NC
NWS Raleigh, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 2009, 3:40 PM EDT for Nash County, North Carolina. It was in force for 50 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 17, 2009, 3:40 PM EDT (19:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 17, 2009, 4:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Raleigh, NC
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
County Nash County, NC
The radar
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:43 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 2:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 166 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
- 703 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -50 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 788 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -25 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 1.6
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 17, 3:18 PM EDT, 22 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 3:18 PM EDT, 22 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 318 PM EDT FRI JUL 17 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST THIS EVENING AND CROSS CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA OVERNIGHT. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE AREA SATURDAY... AND DRIFT EAST ON SUNDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 251 PM FRIDAY... MOIST AND MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIR MASS COVERS ROUGHLY THE EASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA WHILE MID LEVEL WINDS HAVE INCREASED IN RESPONSE TO UPPER LEVEL JET ROTATING THROUGH LOWER OH VALLEY. IN ADDITION...MID LEVEL TROUGH LIFTING E-NE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. ALSO...DECENT STRONG LOW LEVEL THETA-E ADVECTION OCCURRING OVER THE COASTAL PLAIN. THUS...APPEARS BEST PARAMETERS FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL LIE ALONG AND EAST OF HIGHWAY 1. FARTHER WEST...LOW LEVEL FLOW HAS VEERED TO A WESTERLY DIRECTION...ADVECTING SLIGHTLY MORE STABLE AIR INTO THE LOWER LAYERS. STILL CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM IN THE WESTERN PIEDMONT THROUGH 21Z. BEST UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT LIFT WELL NE OF CENTRAL NC AFTER 00Z. THUS...EXPECT MOST STORMS TO DIMINISH AFTER 00Z WITH ANY CONVECTION ISOLATED AND CONFINED TO FAR EASTERN PERIPHERY BY 02Z. SURFACE FRONT DOESNT CROSS REGION UNTIL 06Z-12Z. DUE TO LATER FROPA...MIN TEMPS MAY END UP BEING A FEW DEGREES WARMER DUE TO MIXING. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 306 PM... SURFACE FRONT WILL SLOW OVER THE COASTAL PLAIN BUT DEEP WESTERLY FLOW FLOW WILL ADVECT DRY...STABLE AIR OVER THE REGION. RESIDUAL MOISTURE IN THE LOWEST 8000 FT WILL RESULT IN FEW TO SCATTERED CU INT EH LATE MORNING THROUGH AFTERNOON HOURS BUT MOISTURE DOES NOT APPEAR DEEP ENOUGH NOR LIFT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO GENERATE SHOWERS. THUS WILL REMOVE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FROM THE COASTAL PLAIN. MOS GUIDANCE TEMPS OF MID 80S NW TO 90 SE AGREE WITH LOW LEVEL THICKNESSES. SATURDAY NIGHT...WEAK SURFACE HIGH OVERHEAD BY SW FLOW ALOFT MAY ADVECT ENOUGH MOISTURE TO RESULT IN AREA OF CIRRUS. IF SKIES CLEAR OFF ENOUGH...CALM WINDS AND RELATIVELY DRY AIR NEAR THE SURFACE WILL RESULT IN MIN TEMPS 5-7 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 100 PM FRIDAY... WHILE THE NAM AND EVEN THE GFS ARE PERSISTENT WITH KEEPING OVERALL CONDITIONS DRY SUNDAY A DIGGING UPPER TROUGH APPROACHING FROM THE WEST AND PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES OF 1.5 INCHES COULD SUPPORT AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM MAINLY IN THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST BUT ACTIVITY IF ANY SHOULD BE VERY LIMITED. WILL KEEP POPS OUT OF THE FORECAST FOR THURSDAY AFTERNOON BUT WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE IN FOR SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING AS THE UPPER TROUGH APPROACHES AND CONDITIONS DESTABILIZE A LITTLE. SEASONABLE HIGHS IN THE MID 80S STILL LOOK ON TRACK. SUNDAY NIGHT...THE NAM IS MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN THE GFS AND ECMWF REGARDING THE QPF AND LIFT SUNDAY NIGHT BUT ALL MODELS INCLUDING THE ECMWF INCREASE THE RAIN CHANCES AND QPF BY MONDAY. FOR NOW WILL KEEP JUST SLIGHT CHANCE POPS IN THE FORECAST FOR SUNDAY NIGHT INCREASING RAIN CHANCES BY MONDAY MORNING. TIMING OF THE NEXT SYSTEM COULD CAUSE POPS TO INCREASE SUNDAY NIGHT. UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN SHOULD BE IN PLACE FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THE UPPER TROUGH DIGS SOUTH AND EVEN BECOMES NEGATIVELY TILTED ON THE NAM AND ECMWF BY LATE MONDAY. THE UPPER LEVELS WILL BE VERY SUPPORTIVE AS THE REGION FALLS INTO THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF A NORTH TO SOUTH ORIENTED 85+KT 250MB JET. THIS WILL PROVIDE ENHANCE UPPER DIVERGENCE. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE EXACT TIMING AND STRENGTH DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GFS AND THE ECMWF IN THE MID- LEVEL SHORTWAVES WE CAN EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A WEAK COASTAL TROUGH OR FRONTAL ZONE APPEARS TO MOVE INLAND AND SHOULD PROVIDE A FOCUS FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS WITH SUPPORT FROM THE UPPER TROUGH JUST TO THE WEST. SHORTWAVES ALOFT...PRESENCE OF THE FRONT...AND A PERSISTENT FETCH OFF OF THE ATLANTIC ALL RESULT IN CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY INTO WEDNESDAY AND MOST LOCATIONS ACROSS THE AREA SHOULD RECEIVE PERIODIC RAINFALL. THE ECMWF REMAINS STRONGER THAN THE GFS WITH A NEGATIVELY-TILTED UPPER TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE MID ATLANTIC LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY...AND IF THAT VERIFIES...IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL NEED TO BE RAISED INTO AT LEAST THE LIKELY CATEGORY FOR A PERIOD OR TWO FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY. CONTRAST BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF INCREASES DURING THE LATTER PART OF THIS PERIOD. WHILE THE GFS BUILDS HEIGHTS WEST FROM THE ATLANTIC ACROSS THE CAROLINAS DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...THE ECMWF SUPPORTS MORE OF A PATTERN INDICATIVE OF RECENT DAYS WITH A RIDGE IN THE WEST AND A TROUGH ALOFT CLOSE TO THE ATLANTIC SEABOARD. THE RESULT BEING CONSISTENCY WITH THE CURRENT EXTENDED FORECAST SHOWING GENERALLY HIGHER CHANCES FOR SHOWERS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY EAST VERSUS WEST. BASED ON EXPECTED CLOUD COVER AND MOISTURE...HIGH TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE AT OR SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL... WITH LOWS AT OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. && .AVIATION /18Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... AS OF 312 PM FRIDAY... SCATTERED CONVECTION WILL THREATEN KRDU...KRWI AND KFAY...ENDING FROM WEST TO EAST AFTER 22Z. BREEZY SW WINDS THIS AFTERNOON WILL DIMINISH WITH LOSS OF INSOLATION. SURFACE FRONT WILL DRIFT EAST ACROSS REGION BETWEEN 04Z-11Z. WINDS WILL VEER TO W-NW AFTER FROPA BUT WINDS SPEEDS GENERALLY LESS THAN 6 KTS. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO REGION SATURDAY AND SETTLE OVERHEAD SATURDAY NIGHT. RESIDUAL MOISTURE BELOW 800- FT WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED CU BETWEEN 14Z-23Z SATURDAY. HOWEVER...MOISTURE DOESNT APPEAR DEEP ENOUGH TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS. VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. PERIODS OF MVFR CONDITIONS MAY OCCUR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MAINLY DUE TO CEILINGS AND FOG IN THE EARLY MORNING...AND SCATTERED CONVECTION IN THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SYNOPSIS...WSS NEAR TERM...WSS SHORT TERM...WSS LONG TERM...JO AVIATION...WSS
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 17, 2:47 PM EDT, 53 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 17, 2:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 15 minutes before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 1:25 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Alamance, Orange, Person | 35 min |
| Jul 17, 1:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Durham, Granville, Orange, Person | 35 min |
| Jul 17, 2:14 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Halifax, Warren | 46 min |
| Jul 17, 2:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Nash | 51 min |
| Jul 17, 3:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Davidson, Guilford, Randolph | 32 min |
| Jul 17, 3:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Halifax | 46 min |
| Jul 17, 3:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Wayne, Wilson | 38 min |
| Jul 17, 4:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Montgomery | 29 min |
| Jul 17, 5:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Johnston, Wake | 50 min |
| Jul 17, 5:52 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Johnston, Nash, Wilson | 68 min |
| Jul 17, 6:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Harnett, Johnston | 50 min |
| Jul 17, 6:33 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Harnett, Johnston | 27 min |
| Jul 17, 6:44 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Harnett, Johnston | 16 min |
| Jul 17, 6:57 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Johnston, Sampson | 48 min |
| Jul 17, 7:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Johnston, Sampson, Wayne | 44 min |
| Jul 17, 7:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Hoke | 56 min |
| Jul 17, 7:59 PM EDT | Areal Flood Advisory | RAH | Cumberland | 3 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2009Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2009
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.