Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2014
Tornado Watch 23
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 21, 2014, 10:02 AM EST for 30 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
- Feb 21, 2014, 10:02 AM EST (15:02 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 2014, 4:00 PM EST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 65 kt
All 38 counties
Alamance County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Columbus 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, Moore County, NC, Nash County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Orange County, NC, Pender County, NC, Person 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, 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 Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:04 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
- 70%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 90%
Warnings issued inside it
14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 10:04 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Chatham, Montgomery, Moore | 26 min |
| Feb 21, 10:27 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Lee, Orange and 3 more | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 10:41 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Moore, Richmond and 1 more | 64 min |
| Feb 21, 11:12 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Harnett, Johnston, Nash and 4 more | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 11:15 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion, Marlboro | 45 min |
| Feb 21, 11:47 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke | 58 min |
| Feb 21, 11:59 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen, Columbus, Robeson | 61 min |
| Feb 21, 12:02 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Wilson | 73 min |
| Feb 21, 12:13 PM EST | Tornado Warning | ILM | Robeson | 47 min |
| Feb 21, 12:43 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Harnett, Sampson | 62 min |
| Feb 21, 12:57 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen, Columbus, Robeson | 63 min |
| Feb 21, 1:12 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Sampson, Wayne and 1 more | 78 min |
| Feb 21, 1:25 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Johnston, Sampson, Wayne | 20 min |
| Feb 21, 1:46 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Pender | 59 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, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 124 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
- 24 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 679 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 62 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 272 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 272 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
254
WWUS20 KWNS 211458
SEL3
SPC WW 211458
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-212100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 23
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1000 AM EST FRI FEB 21 2014
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
EASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
COASTAL WATERS
* EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1000 AM UNTIL
400 PM EST.
* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
SEVERAL TORNADOES POSSIBLE
SEVERAL DAMAGING WIND GUSTS LIKELY WITH A FEW SIGNIFICANT GUSTS
TO 75 MPH POSSIBLE
A FEW LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF
ROANOKE RAPIDS NORTH CAROLINA TO 50 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF
MYRTLE BEACH SOUTH CAROLINA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE
WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
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 22...
DISCUSSION...TSTMS/SQLN EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN OVER PIEDMONT NC AND
NRN SC LATER THIS MORNING IN RESPONSE TO CONTINUED SFC HEATING AND
CONTINUED NE MOTION OF TN VLY UPR VORT. INTENSITY OF WIND FIELD AND
PRESENCE OF SUFFICIENT MOISTURE FOR ROBUST STORMS SUGGEST RISK FOR
LEWPS/BOWS WITH AN ATTENDANT RISK FOR DMGG WIND AND POSSIBLY
TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 65 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23050.
...CORFIDISPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 10:29 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Swain | 61 min |
| Feb 20, 10:47 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and 2 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 21, 3:11 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke and 14 more | 94 min |
| Feb 21, 8:57 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Bladen, Caswell, Chatham, Columbus, Cumberland and 22 more | 63 min |
| Feb 21, 10:39 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford and 3 more | 5 hr |
| Feb 21, 11:05 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus and 27 more | 55 min |
| Feb 21, 12:15 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Duplin, Greene and 9 more | 5 hr |
| Feb 21, 1:14 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan and 19 more | 61 min |
| Feb 21, 6:39 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell and 30 more | 9 hr |
| Feb 21, 8:17 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Calhoun and 12 more | 118 min |
| Feb 21, 12:43 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell and 20 more | 62 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2014Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2014Every tornado watch in 2014
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.