Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 67
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Mar 3, 2012, 4:39 AM EST for 5 counties in Georgia; 25 counties in North Carolina; 23 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 3, 2012, 4:39 AM EST (09:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 3, 2012, 9:00 AM EST
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 53 counties
Burke County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Anson County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Granville County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Nash County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Aiken County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Florence County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Lee County, SC, Lexington County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Richland County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Sumter County, SC
The radar
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:39 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
- 5%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 4:52 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Aiken, Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Richland | 83 min |
| Mar 3, 5:23 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lexington, Orangeburg and 2 more | 67 min |
| Mar 3, 5:32 AM EST | Tornado Warning | CAE | Kershaw, Richland | 13 min |
| Mar 3, 5:55 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Calhoun, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee, Orangeburg and 1 more | 80 min |
| Mar 3, 6:06 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Robeson | 54 min |
| Mar 3, 8:16 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Burke | 44 min |
| Mar 3, 8:54 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Burke | 51 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 00:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 177 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
- 518 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 65 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 442 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 585 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
241
WWUS20 KWNS 030938
SEL7
SPC WW 030938
GAZ000-NCZ000-SCZ000-031400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 67
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
440 AM EST SAT MAR 3 2012
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EXTREME EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA
CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING FROM 440 AM UNTIL 900 AM EST.
HAIL TO 1 INCH 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 45
STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES WEST OF
AUGUSTA GEORGIA TO 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF ROCKY MOUNT NORTH
CAROLINA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).
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...CONTINUE...WW 65...WW 66...
DISCUSSION...A PRE-FRONTAL CONVECTIVE BAND IN SC EXTENDS NEWD ALONG
A RESIDUAL WEDGE FRONT INTO CENTRAL NC. LOW-MIDLEVEL SHEAR REMAINS
STRONG OVER THE CAROLINAS WITH LARGELY UNIDIRECTIONAL SWLY WIND
PROFILES...BUT INSTABILITY IS WEAK. THE RISK FOR DAMAGING WINDS
WILL CONTINUE WITH EMBEDDED BOWING SEGMENTS GIVEN THE STRONG WIND
ENVIRONMENT...THOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT.
AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.
A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400. MEAN STORM MOTION
VECTOR 25050.
...THOMPSONSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 8:15 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Catoosa, Dade, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Rabun and 4 more | 90 min |
| Mar 2, 8:18 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dade | 57 min |
| Mar 2, 9:36 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty and 6 more | 54 min |
| Mar 2, 10:54 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa and 61 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 2, 11:07 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carroll, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas and 13 more | 113 min |
| Mar 3, 12:40 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clarke and 30 more | 95 min |
| Mar 3, 3:58 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln and 6 more | 92 min |
| Mar 3, 5:47 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Berrien, Brooks, Calhoun, Clay, Colquitt and 18 more | 58 min |
| Mar 3, 7:35 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 49 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 3, 10:12 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 24 more | 93 min |
| Mar 3, 12:45 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brantley, Brooks, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Echols and 3 more | 60 min |
| Mar 3, 1:04 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Atkinson, Brantley, Brooks, Camden, Charlton, Clinch and 12 more | 5 hr |
| Mar 3, 4:30 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Charlton | 90 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Carolina, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in South Carolina, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Georgia, 2012Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.