Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 880

May 23, 201248 counties in North Carolina; 8 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 23, 2012, 4:54 PM EDT for 48 counties in North Carolina; 8 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 66 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 23, 2012, 4:54 PM EDT (20:54 UTC)
Expired: May 23, 2012, 6:00 PM EDT
In force: 66 min
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 56 counties

Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Camden County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Gates County, NC, Granville County, NC, Greene County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lee County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Moore County, NC, Nash County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Pender County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson 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 Wilmington radar (KLTX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:56 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 nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 153 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: 1227 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 677 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 54 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

367 
ACUS11 KWNS 232055
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 232054
NCZ000-VAZ000-SCZ000-232200-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0880
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0354 PM CDT WED MAY 23 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...NORTHEAST SC/CENTRAL AND ERN NC

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 292...

VALID 232054Z - 232200Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 292
CONTINUES.

SUMMARY...THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH
THE REST OF THE LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING ACROSS NERN SC
AND THE ERN HALF OF NC.

DISCUSSION...AT 2045Z...REGIONAL RADAR IMAGERY SHOWED SEVERAL STRONG
TO SEVERE STORMS TENDING TO BE LOCATED ALONG AND JUST EAST OF A
STATIONARY SURFACE BOUNDARY EXTENDING FROM CENTRAL SC NNEWD THROUGH
CENTRAL NC TO CENTRAL AND NERN VA.  GIVEN THE CENTER OF THE MIDLEVEL
LOW HAS MOVED NWD INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NC...ATTENDANT STRONGER WINDS
HAVE SPREAD NNWWD ACROSS MORE OF WW 292...ENHANCING DEEP LAYER
SHEAR.  THIS COMBINED WITH MODERATE INSTABILITY SUGGESTS THE THREAT
FOR ORGANIZED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL PERSIST INTO THE EARLY
EVENING.  AREA WSR-88D VADS INDICATED RELATIVELY STRAIGHT HODOGRAPHS
WHICH WILL SUPPORT A CONTINUED POTENTIAL FOR SPLITTING STORMS.  HAIL
AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WILL REMAIN THE PRIMARY THREATS.

..PETERS.. 05/23/2012

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...AKQ...MHX...RAH...ILM...CHS...CAE...

LAT...LON   33187919 33497997 34007999 34498012 35197994 35457982
            35857925 36547860 36617594 36117575 35357626 34407746
            33877812 33697869 33187919

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 23, 1:15 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Chatham, Chowan, Columbus and 31 more	60 min
May 23, 1:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden and 46 more	7 hr
May 23, 7:32 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Chatham, Chowan and 37 more	58 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2012 Mesoscale Discussions in South Carolina, 2012 Every mesoscale discussion in 2012

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.