Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2018
Tornado Watch 55
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 15, 2018, 9:32 PM EDT for 23 counties in North Carolina; 13 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 15, 2018, 9:32 PM EDT (01:32 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 16, 2018, 1:48 AM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 36 counties
Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Craven County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Gates County, NC, Greene County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Charles City County, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, Greensville County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 101 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:35 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
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- 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
- 50%
Warnings issued inside it
5 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 9:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Harnett, Johnston, Sampson, Wake, Wayne | 44 min |
| Apr 15, 10:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Franklin, Granville, Nash, Vance, Wake, Warren | 53 min |
| Apr 15, 10:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Johnston, Nash, Sampson, Wake, Wayne, Wilson | 64 min |
| Apr 15, 10:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MHX | Duplin | 60 min |
| Apr 15, 11:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Franklin, Halifax, Nash, Warren | 52 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
Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 145 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
- 584 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -6 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 610 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 269 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 298 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 5.0
The text
As transmitted.
095 WWUS20 KWNS 160130 SEL5 SPC WW 160130 NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-160700- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 55 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 935 PM EDT Sun Apr 15 2018 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Eastern North Carolina Southeast Virginia Coastal Waters * Effective this Sunday night and Monday morning from 935 PM until 300 AM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...A line of strong/severe thunderstorms over central NC will track northeastward across the watch area. Very strong winds just above the surface will promote a risk of damaging wind gusts or brief tornadoes along the leading edge of the squall line. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 35 statute miles east and west of a line from 60 miles northeast of Roanoke Rapids NC to 15 miles south southeast of Jacksonville NC. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5). 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 53...WW 54... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 21040. ...Hart
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 8:31 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Bladen, Brunswick, Chatham, Columbus, Cumberland and 29 more | 89 min |
| Apr 15, 9:07 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Craven, Edgecombe and 14 more | 83 min |
| Apr 15, 11:19 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 27 more | 86 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2018Tornado Watches in Virginia, 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.