Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Watches in 2015

Flash Flood Watch 4, NWS Raleigh, NC

December 22, 20159 counties in North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this flash flood watch at Dec 22, 2015, 3:53 PM EST for 9 counties in North Carolina. It took effect at Dec 23, 2015, 12:00 AM EST. It was in force for 43 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 22, 2015, 3:53 PM EST (20:53 UTC)
In effect from
Dec 23, 2015, 12:00 AM EST
Expired
Dec 24, 2015, 6:41 PM EST
In force
43 hr
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Flood severity
None

Counties Alamance County, NC, Anson County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Stanly County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 131 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 54 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2015-12-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2015-12-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 98 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
534 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
139 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood watch went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood watch went out at Dec 22, 3:15 PM EST, 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 22, 3:15 PM EST, 38 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 22, 11:30 AM EST, 4 hours 23 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1130 AM EST TUE DEC 22 2015

NCZ021-022-038-039-073-074-083-231630-
FORSYTH-GUILFORD-DAVIDSON-RANDOLPH-STANLY-MONTGOMERY-ANSON-
1130 AM EST TUE DEC 22 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY DURING THE DAY ON WEDNESDAY. WHILE THE
HEAVIEST RAINFALL WILL BE IN THE MOUNTAINS...ONE TO TWO INCHES OF
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE IN THE WESTERN PIEDMONT...WHICH
MAY LEAD TO SOME RUNOFF PROBLEMS AND MINOR FLOODING IN URBAN AND
FLOOD PRONE AREAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

HEAVY RAINFALL EARLY WEDNESDAY MAY LEAD TO SOME MINOR FLOODING
CONCERNS IN THE WESTERN PIEDMONT. OTHERWISE...HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS
NOT EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

NCZ007>011-023>028-040>043-075>078-084>086-088-089-231630-
PERSON-GRANVILLE-VANCE-WARREN-HALIFAX-ALAMANCE-ORANGE-DURHAM-
FRANKLIN-NASH-EDGECOMBE-CHATHAM-WAKE-JOHNSTON-WILSON-MOORE-LEE-
HARNETT-WAYNE-RICHMOND-SCOTLAND-HOKE-CUMBERLAND-SAMPSON-
1130 AM EST TUE DEC 22 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 22, 10:32 AM EST, 5 hours 21 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1032 AM EST TUE DEC 22 2015

NCZ021-022-038-039-221800-
FORSYTH-GUILFORD-DAVIDSON-RANDOLPH-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WINSTON-SALEM...GREENSBORO...
HIGH POINT...LEXINGTON...THOMASVILLE...ASHEBORO...ARCHDALE...
TRINITY
1032 AM EST TUE DEC 22 2015

...AREAS OF DENSE FOG ACROSS THE WESTERN PIEDMONT THROUGH EARLY
AFTERNOON...

IN THE WAKE OF THE EARLY MORNING RAINFALL...AREAS OF FOG...SOME
LOCALLY DENSE...ARE DEVELOPING ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN
PIEDMONT. VISIBILITY WILL BE REDUCED TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS
IN SOME AREAS. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO DRIVE WITH CAUTION AND BE
PREPARED FOR THE RAPIDLY CHANGING VISIBILITY.

A SOUTHERLY WIND IS EXPECTED TO SCOUR THE FOG BY EARLY
AFTERNOON...GREATLY IMPROVING VISIBILITIES.

22
Local storm report, Dec 22, 3:29 PM EST, 24 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 22, 7:23 AM ESTAreal Flood AdvisoryRAHAlamance, Anson, Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Franklin and 18 more3 hr
Dec 22, 9:12 AM ESTSpecial Weather StatementRAHJohnston, Wayne48 min
Dec 22, 2:09 PM ESTRiver Flood WarningRAHAnson, Stanly21 hr
Dec 22, 2:14 PM ESTRiver Flood WarningRAHChatham18 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in North Carolina, 2015Every flash flood watch 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.