Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 126
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 5, 2017, 2:45 PM EDT for 6 counties in North Carolina; 8 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 5, 2017, 2:45 PM EDT (18:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 5, 2017, 8:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Columbus County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Pender County, NC, Robeson 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 Wilmington radar (KLTX), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:44 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
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 3:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Darlington, Florence | 59 min |
| Apr 5, 5:02 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen, Columbus, Robeson | 58 min |
| Apr 5, 5:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Georgetown, Williamsburg | 29 min |
| Apr 5, 5:24 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Georgetown, Marion, Williamsburg | 51 min |
| Apr 5, 5:53 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Horry | 42 min |
| Apr 5, 5:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen | 38 min |
| Apr 5, 7:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick | 45 min |
| Apr 5, 7:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 37 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
Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 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
- 626 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -105 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 862 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 45 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 178 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.2
The text
As transmitted.
824 WWUS20 KWNS 051842 SEL6 SPC WW 051842 NCZ000-SCZ000-060000- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 126 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 245 PM EDT Wed Apr 5 2017 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Southern North Carolina Southeast South Carolina * Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 245 PM until 800 PM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated very large hail events to 2 inches in diameter possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...Scattered severe thunderstorms will spread into coastal South Carolina/southern North Carolina over the next few hours. Damaging winds and large hail are the primary threats but isolated tornadoes are also possible. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles either side of a line from 35 miles southwest of Florence SC to 40 miles east northeast of Myrtle Beach SC. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6). 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 125... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 26030. ...Darrow
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2:02 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Columbus | 58 min |
| Apr 5, 4:23 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Columbus | 97 min |
| Apr 5, 7:57 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Swain | 48 min |
| Apr 5, 10:25 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun and 6 more | 95 min |
| Apr 5, 10:43 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon and 10 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 5, 11:38 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allendale, Hampton | 97 min |
| Apr 5, 12:54 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley and 18 more | 10 hr |
| Apr 5, 3:12 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Barnwell, Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick and 2 more | 93 min |
| Apr 5, 6:29 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Berkeley, Colleton, Georgetown, Jasper | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2017Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2017Every tornado watch in 2017
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.