Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2011
Tornado Watch 103
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 5, 2011, 4:00 AM EDT for 21 counties in North Carolina; 8 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 5, 2011, 4:00 AM EDT (08:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 5, 2011, 10:05 AM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 0.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 29 counties
Beaufort County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Dare County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Greene County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pender County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Washington County, NC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Horry County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC
The radar
The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:03 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
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 50%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 5%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
10 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 4:53 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen, Columbus, Robeson | 82 min |
| Apr 5, 4:54 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MHX | Duplin, Greene, Lenoir, Martin, Pitt | 66 min |
| Apr 5, 5:57 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MHX | Beaufort, Craven, Duplin, Greene, Jones, Lenoir and 4 more | 48 min |
| Apr 5, 6:15 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender, Robeson | 90 min |
| Apr 5, 6:20 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 25 min |
| Apr 5, 6:44 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 46 min |
| Apr 5, 6:56 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MHX | Duplin, Lenoir | 34 min |
| Apr 5, 7:37 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MHX | Beaufort, Craven, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Pitt | 38 min |
| Apr 5, 7:43 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MHX | Jones, Onslow | 32 min |
| Apr 5, 7:58 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender | 30 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
Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 76 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
- 331 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -43 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 486 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 190 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 229 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
841
WWUS20 KWNS 050802
SEL3
SPC WW 050802
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-051500-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 103
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
400 AM EDT TUE APR 5 2011
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
EASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING FROM 400 AM UNTIL 1100 AM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES NORTH OF ELIZABETH
CITY NORTH CAROLINA TO 30 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF MYRTLE BEACH
SOUTH CAROLINA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND 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.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 98...WW 100...WW 101...WW
102...
DISCUSSION...QLCS WITH EMBEDDED BOWS/LEWPS WILL PROGRESS RAPIDLY EWD
ACROSS WW AREA EARLY THIS MORNING. THE EXTREMELY STRONG WIND FIELD
WILL BE SUPPORTIVE OF DOWNWARD MOMENTUM TRANSFER AND A RESULTANT
DAMAGING WIND THREAT. TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY
EMBEDDED MESOVORTICIES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27050.
...MEADSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 9:32 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Buncombe, Burke, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston and 8 more | 58 min |
| Apr 4, 9:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alexander, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell and 22 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 5, 12:21 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Chatham, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke and 7 more | 84 min |
| Apr 5, 12:36 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alleghany, Caswell, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes and 1 more | 111 min |
| Apr 5, 12:48 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Bladen, Chatham, Cumberland, Davidson and 27 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 5, 2:13 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Forsyth, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin | 32 min |
| Apr 5, 2:18 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bertie, Camden, Caswell, Chowan, Currituck, Gates and 5 more | 8 hr |
| Apr 5, 2:24 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Rowan | 66 min |
| Apr 5, 3:34 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden and 49 more | 116 min |
| Apr 5, 7:08 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, Currituck, Dare and 10 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 5, 10:15 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret and 26 more | 90 min |
| Apr 4, 10:05 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Edgefield | 55 min |
| Apr 5, 2:41 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allendale, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and 2 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 5, 2:55 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allendale, Bamberg, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and 3 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 5, 5:39 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Charleston | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2011Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2011Every tornado watch in 2011
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.