Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2018
Tornado Watch 378
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 15, 2018, 11:01 PM EDT for 10 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 15, 2018, 11:01 PM EDT (03:01 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 16, 2018, 6:57 AM EDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Hoke County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Pender County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC
The radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:02 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
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 10%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 5%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 5%
- 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
- 20%
Warnings issued inside it
7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 11:53 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | New Hanover | 15 min |
| Sep 16, 12:23 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | New Hanover | 8 min |
| Sep 16, 12:26 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 34 min |
| Sep 16, 12:55 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 20 min |
| Sep 16, 1:51 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 24 min |
| Sep 16, 3:40 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RAH | Sampson | 6 hr |
| Sep 16, 5:23 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | ILM | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender, Robeson | 8 hr |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 133 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
- 733 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 609 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 182 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 186 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 4.2
The text
As transmitted.
623 WWUS20 KWNS 160258 SEL8 SPC WW 160258 NCZ000-CWZ000-161100- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 378 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 1100 PM EDT Sat Sep 15 2018 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Southeast North Carolina Coastal Waters * Effective this Saturday night and Sunday morning from 1100 PM until 700 AM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible SUMMARY...The winds above the surface remain relatively strong in association with Tropical Storm Florence. This, in conjunction with a very moist air mass, will continue to support inland-spreading supercells capable of brief tornadoes. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 45 statute miles east and west of a line from 15 miles north of Fayetteville NC to 30 miles south of Wilmington NC. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8). 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 377... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 0 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 13050. ...Guyer
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 9:14 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Hoke, New Hanover and 4 more | 2 hr |
| Sep 15, 11:59 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender, Robeson | 3 hr |
| Sep 16, 3:23 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, Hoke and 6 more | 2 hr |
| Sep 16, 6:32 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, Hoke and 6 more | 88 min |
| Sep 16, 6:55 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Hoke and 6 more | 16 hr |
| Sep 16, 11:22 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Hoke, Richmond, Robeson and 1 more | 113 min |
| Sep 16, 3:42 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anson, Hoke, Richmond, Robeson, Scotland | 93 min |
| Sep 16, 4:14 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Anson, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery and 4 more | 7 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2018Every tornado watch in 2018
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.