Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2020

Mesoscale Discussion 1821

November 30, 2020Brunswick County, New Hanover County, North Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Nov 30, 2020, 12:16 AM EST for Brunswick County, New Hanover County, North Carolina. It was in force for 119 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 30, 2020, 12:16 AM EST (05:16 UTC)
Expired
Nov 30, 2020, 2:15 AM EST
In force
119 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Severe potential...watch unlikely
Chance of a watch
5%

Counties Brunswick County, NC, New Hanover County, NC

The radar

The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:16 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 nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 00:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 80 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, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 2020-11-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 2020-11-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 162 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
944 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
162 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
189 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

115 
ACUS11 KWNS 300517
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 300516 
NCZ000-300715-

Mesoscale Discussion 1821
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1116 PM CST Sun Nov 29 2020

Areas affected...The Southern North Carolina Coast

Concerning...Severe potential...Watch unlikely 

Valid 300516Z - 300715Z

Probability of Watch Issuance...5 percent

SUMMARY...Strong convection may gradually move onshore over the next
few hours and pose the risk for isolated strong to severe winds and
perhaps a brief tornado.

DISCUSSION...Recent radar imagery from the southern NC coast shows a
few stronger convective cells offshore that have exhibited
supercellular characteristics over the past hour. Northward moisture
flux into the region (as sampled by the 00 UTC CHS sounding) has
allowed for an increase in instability with offshore MLCAPE values
estimated to be between 500-1000 J/kg per recent RAP Mesoanalysis.
This instability, coupled with strong (50 knot) deep layer shear
over the region has allow for a few stronger storms to persist as
they migrate north/northeastward. A few of these storms may move
onshore and introduce a severe wind threat to the immediate coastal
areas. The LTX VWP recently sampled 240 m2/s2 0-1 km SRH, which
suggests that sufficiently low-level shear is in place along the
coast to support at least a low-end tornado threat with any storm
exhibiting a sustained mesocyclone. No watch is currently
anticipated since this threat appears to be limited spatially to
just the coastal areas. However, a more favorable environment should
continue to progress inland overnight as the main surface low
(currently over eastern AL/western GA) deepens as it translates
northeast through morning.

..Moore/Grams.. 11/30/2020

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...MHX...ILM...

LAT...LON   33807844 34207821 34467777 34687731 34857688 34827652
            34627613 34407613 34197640 33977707 33737768 33587808
            33627833 33807844

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 30, 12:26 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 23 more3 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2020Every mesoscale discussion in 2020

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.