Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2016

Mesoscale Discussion 113

February 16, 201625 counties in North Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Feb 16, 2016, 6:31 AM EST for 25 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 119 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 16, 2016, 6:31 AM EST (11:31 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 2016, 8:30 AM EST
In force
119 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
5%
All 25 counties

Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Craven County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Greene County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Nash County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pender County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Vance County, NC, Warren County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:34 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 00:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 100 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, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 2016-02-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 45 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 2016-02-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 163 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
45 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
838 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
163 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
212 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

501 
ACUS11 KWNS 161131
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 161131 
NCZ000-VAZ000-161330-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0113
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0531 AM CST TUE FEB 16 2016

AREAS AFFECTED...E-CNTRL AND ERN NC / SERN VA

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY 

VALID 161131Z - 161330Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...5 PERCENT

SUMMARY...A SQUALL LINE WILL MOVE THROUGH E-CNTRL NC AND INTO
PORTIONS OF SERN VA AND ERN NC OVER THE NEXT 1-3 HOURS.  A LOCALIZED
WIND-DAMAGE RISK MAY MATERIALIZE BUT MAY BE CONFINED TO PATHS OF ANY
MESOVORTICES THAT DEVELOP.

DISCUSSION...RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS A MATURE QLCS MOVING ACROSS CNTRL
NC AND SRN NC.  WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATES THE MID-LEVEL
VORTICITY MAXIMUM IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE REGION WHICH SHOULD AID
IN LARGE-SCALE LIFT AND CONVECTIVE LINE MAINTENANCE DESPITE THE LACK
OF DETECTED LIGHTNING FLASHES.  HOWEVER...THE PAUCITY OF BUOYANCY
--PROBABLY 100-200 J PER KG MUCAPE AT BEST-- WITHIN A SATURATED
COLUMN WILL TEND TO MITIGATE STORM INTENSITY.  HOWEVER...THE
STRENGTH OF FLOW AND WELL-ORGANIZED CHARACTER OF THE QLCS MAY
SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF 1 OR 2 MESOVORTICES.  AS A RESULT OF THE
MEAGER BUOYANCY...ANY LOW-PROBABILITY WIND DAMAGE RISK MAY BE
CONFINED TO BE NEAR MESOVORTEX PATHS BEFORE THE QLCS MOVES THROUGH
THE LOW-LEVEL MOIST PLUME AND INTO A LESS FAVORABLE THERMODYNAMIC
ENVIRONMENT.

..SMITH/EDWARDS.. 02/16/2016

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...AKQ...MHX...RAH...ILM...

LAT...LON   34127851 35497836 36547845 36667728 35037608 33847807
            34127851

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 16, 8:44 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Dare and 7 more61 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2016Every mesoscale discussion in 2016

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.