Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Wilmington, NC

December 23, 2015Bladen County, Pender County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Dec 23, 2015, 7:34 AM EST for Bladen County, Pender County, North Carolina. It was in force for 41 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 23, 2015, 7:34 AM EST (12:34 UTC)
Expired: Dec 23, 2015, 8:15 AM EST
In force: 41 min
Issued by: NWS Wilmington, NC
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Bladen County, NC, Pender County, NC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:36 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, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 134 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: 716 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 657 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 158 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 204 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 5.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

602 
WFUS52 KILM 231234
TORILM
NCC017-141-231315-
/O.NEW.KILM.TO.W.0007.151223T1234Z-151223T1315Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
734 AM EST WED DEC 23 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WEST CENTRAL PENDER COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
  SOUTHEASTERN BLADEN COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA...

* UNTIL 815 AM EST
    
* AT 734 AM EST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED
  OVER COUNCIL...OR 12 MILES NORTHEAST OF WHITEVILLE...AND MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  ROWAN...LAGOON...CARVERS...ROOKS...COUNCIL...KELLY...POINT CASWELL
  AND ATKINSON.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE
HOME OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

IF A TORNADO OR OTHER SEVERE WEATHER IS SPOTTED...CONTACT THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON AT 800 - 697 - 3901. THIS ACT
MAY SAVE LIVES OF OTHERS IN THE PATH OF DANGEROUS WEATHER.

&&

LAT...LON 3471 7838 3469 7837 3469 7835 3467 7832
      3465 7832 3464 7831 3463 7832 3461 7831
      3458 7827 3456 7826 3461 7821 3448 7811
      3438 7846 3443 7857
TIME...MOT...LOC 1234Z 224DEG 27KT 3443 7850 

$$

III

3 follow-up statements

172 
WWUS52 KILM 231247
SVSILM

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
747 AM EST WED DEC 23 2015

NCC017-141-231315-
/O.CON.KILM.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-151223T1315Z/
PENDER NC-BLADEN NC-
747 AM EST WED DEC 23 2015

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 815 AM EST FOR WEST
CENTRAL PENDER AND SOUTHEASTERN BLADEN COUNTIES...
    
AT 746 AM EST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE
OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED OVER
CARVERS...OR 14 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ELIZABETHTOWN...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 30 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
ROWAN...LAGOON...CARVERS...ROOKS...COUNCIL...POINT CASWELL...KELLY
AND ATKINSON.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE
HOME OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

IF A TORNADO OR OTHER SEVERE WEATHER IS SPOTTED...CONTACT THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON AT 800 - 697 - 3901. THIS ACT
MAY SAVE LIVES OF OTHERS IN THE PATH OF DANGEROUS WEATHER.

&&

LAT...LON 3471 7838 3469 7837 3469 7835 3467 7832
      3465 7832 3464 7831 3463 7832 3461 7831
      3458 7827 3456 7826 3461 7821 3448 7811
      3439 7843 3446 7855
TIME...MOT...LOC 1246Z 224DEG 25KT 3448 7844 

$$

III

242 
WWUS52 KILM 231258
SVSILM

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
758 AM EST WED DEC 23 2015

NCC017-141-231315-
/O.CON.KILM.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-151223T1315Z/
PENDER NC-BLADEN NC-
758 AM EST WED DEC 23 2015

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 815 AM EST FOR WEST
CENTRAL PENDER AND SOUTHEASTERN BLADEN COUNTIES...
    
AT 758 AM EST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE
OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR
LAGOON...OR 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ELIZABETHTOWN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT
30 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
ROWAN...LAGOON...CARVERS...ROOKS...KELLY AND ATKINSON. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE
HOME OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

IF A TORNADO OR OTHER SEVERE WEATHER IS SPOTTED...CONTACT THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON AT 800 - 697 - 3901. THIS ACT
MAY SAVE LIVES OF OTHERS IN THE PATH OF DANGEROUS WEATHER.

&&

LAT...LON 3471 7838 3469 7837 3469 7835 3467 7832
      3465 7832 3464 7831 3463 7832 3461 7831
      3458 7827 3456 7826 3461 7821 3448 7811
      3443 7839 3452 7851
TIME...MOT...LOC 1258Z 224DEG 25KT 3454 7837 

$$

III

585 
WWUS52 KILM 231314
SVSILM

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
814 AM EST WED DEC 23 2015

NCC017-141-231324-
/O.EXP.KILM.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-151223T1315Z/
PENDER NC-BLADEN NC-
814 AM EST WED DEC 23 2015

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR WEST CENTRAL PENDER AND SOUTHEASTERN
BLADEN COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT 815 AM EST...
        
THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS MOVED OUT OF THE AREA.
THEREFORE THE WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...CONTACT YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
WILMINGTON.

LAT...LON 3471 7838 3469 7837 3469 7835 3467 7832
      3465 7832 3464 7831 3463 7832 3461 7831
      3458 7827 3456 7826 3461 7821 3448 7811
      3443 7839 3452 7851
TIME...MOT...LOC 1312Z 224DEG 27KT 3454 7837 

$$

III

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 22, 9:50 PM EST	River Flood Warning	ILM	Robeson	20 days
Dec 23, 5:17 AM EST	Coastal Flood Advisory	ILM	New Hanover	4 hr
Dec 23, 6:07 AM EST	Special Weather Statement	ILM	Columbus	53 min
Dec 23, 7:04 AM EST	River Flood Warning	ILM	Bladen	13 days
Dec 23, 7:27 AM EST	Special Weather Statement	ILM	Bladen	63 min
Dec 23, 9:44 AM EST	Special Weather Statement	ILM	Pender	61 min
Dec 23, 11:04 AM EST	River Flood Warning	ILM	Pender	24 hr
Dec 23, 5:21 PM EST	Special Weather Statement	ILM	Robeson	54 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2015 Every tornado warning in 2015 Tornadoes in 2015

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.