Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 194
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 4, 2017, 8:49 PM EDT for 19 counties in North Carolina; 15 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 4, 2017, 8:49 PM EDT (00:49 UTC)
- Expired
- May 5, 2017, 3:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 0.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 34 counties
Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pender County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Berkeley County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Horry County, SC, Lee County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Sumter County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC
The radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:49 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
- 50%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 10%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 5%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 30%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 8:52 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CAE | Clarendon, Orangeburg | 23 min |
| May 4, 9:16 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CAE | Clarendon, Orangeburg | 44 min |
| May 4, 10:36 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Florence, Marion | 39 min |
| May 4, 11:41 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Horry | 34 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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 173 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
- 401 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 781 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 278 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 329 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 8.3
The text
As transmitted.
479 WWUS20 KWNS 050047 SEL4 SPC WW 050047 NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-050700- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 194 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 850 PM EDT Thu May 4 2017 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Southeastern North Carolina Eastern South Carolina Coastal Waters * Effective this Thursday night and Friday morning from 850 PM until 300 AM EDT. * Primary threats include... A few tornadoes possible SUMMARY...Tornado threat has become greater than isolated over the area, with the potential for additional supercells to form both in the main band of thunderstorms moving northeastward, and activity moving inland from the Atlantic. Outlook probabilities are being upgraded accordingly as well. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles either side of a line from 55 miles south southwest of Florence SC to 30 miles east northeast of Jacksonville NC. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4). 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 193... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 0.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 22030. ...Edwards
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 11:24 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, Greene, Jones and 7 more | 66 min |
| May 5, 2:28 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Camden, Caswell and 43 more | 92 min |
| May 5, 3:09 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Chatham and 37 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 5:56 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare and 12 more | 94 min |
| May 5, 6:25 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare and 9 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 8:27 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 9 more | 93 min |
| May 5, 6:15 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Halifax, Hertford, Northampton | 90 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2017Tornado Watches in South 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.