Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2015
Tornado Watch 82
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 19, 2015, 5:01 PM EDT for 22 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
- Apr 19, 2015, 5:01 PM EDT (21:01 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 19, 2015, 11:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 30 counties
Anson County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Pender County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Wayne 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), 140 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:01 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
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 6:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Darlington, Florence, Williamsburg | 66 min |
| Apr 19, 7:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Columbus, Robeson | 86 min |
| Apr 19, 7:23 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RAH | Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford | 3 hr |
| Apr 19, 7:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Williamsburg | 43 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, 9.0 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -25 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 945 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 20 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 156 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
115 WWUS20 KWNS 192059 SEL2 SPC WW 192059 NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-200300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 82 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 500 PM EDT SUN APR 19 2015 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA EASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA COASTAL WATERS * EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 500 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT. * PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE... A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE ISOLATED LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE SUMMARY...LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER SC WILL TRACK EASTWARD ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...POSING A CONTINUED RISK OF LOCALLY DAMAGING WINDS AND/OR BRIEF TORNADOES. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTH OF SOUTHERN PINES 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 WOU2). 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 79...WW 80...WW 81... AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035. ...HART
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1:04 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union | 7 hr |
| Apr 19, 4:11 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anson, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Davie, Gaston and 7 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 19, 6:25 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee | 95 min |
| Apr 19, 7:11 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin and 12 more | 94 min |
| Apr 19, 12:24 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Hampton, Jasper | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2015Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2015Every tornado 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.