Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2016

Mesoscale Discussion 536

May 3, 201641 counties in North Carolina; 14 counties in South Carolina; 7 counties in Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 3, 2016, 1:57 PM EDT for 41 counties in North Carolina; 14 counties in South Carolina; 7 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 3, 2016, 1:57 PM EDT (17:57 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 2016, 4:30 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
40%
All 62 counties

Alamance County, NC, Alexander County, NC, Anson County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Caswell County, NC, Catawba County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Davie County, NC, Durham County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Granville County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Iredell County, NC, Lee County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Orange County, NC, Person County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Stokes County, NC, Surry County, NC, Union County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Yadkin County, NC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Lee County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Union County, SC, York County, SC, City of Danville, VA, City of Martinsville, VA, Halifax County, VA, Henry County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, Patrick County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 148 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:57 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 114 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 2016-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 32 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2016-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 27 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
32 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
535 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
67 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

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SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 2:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAlamance, Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Catawba and 40 more8 hr
May 3, 5:58 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 24 more62 min
May 3, 6:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBeaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 18 more4 hr
May 3, 3:07 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAiken, Allendale, Barnwell, Edgefield, McCormick83 min
May 3, 4:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllendale, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and 2 more8 hr
May 3, 6:39 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllendale, Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton and 1 more96 min
May 3, 3:48 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlbemarle, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Buckingham and 48 more117 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2016Mesoscale Discussions in South Carolina, 2016Mesoscale Discussions in Virginia, 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.