Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 31
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 6, 2020, 4:23 PM EST for 21 counties in North Carolina; 8 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 9 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 6, 2020, 4:23 PM EST (21:23 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 7, 2020, 1:00 AM EST
- In force
- 9 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 0.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 29 counties
Beaufort County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Dare County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Greene County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pender County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Washington 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), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:23 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
- 60%
- 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
- 70%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 4:41 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion, Marlboro | 49 min |
| Feb 6, 5:26 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Robeson | 34 min |
| Feb 6, 6:57 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Bladen, Pender | 33 min |
| Feb 6, 7:54 PM EST | Tornado Warning | MHX | Tyrrell, Washington | 24 min |
| Feb 6, 8:47 PM EST | Tornado Warning | MHX | Craven | 28 min |
| Feb 7, 12:21 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 24 min |
| Feb 7, 12:59 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 31 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 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 105 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
- 34 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -18 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 605 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 219 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 293 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
853 WWUS20 KWNS 062121 SEL1 SPC WW 062121 NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-070600- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 31 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 425 PM EST Thu Feb 6 2020 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Eastern North Carolina Northeast South Carolina Coastal Waters * Effective this Thursday afternoon and Friday morning from 425 PM until 100 AM EST. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely SUMMARY...Lines and clusters of thunderstorms over the central Carolinas will track eastward across the watch area late this afternoon and evening. The strongest cells will pose a risk of damaging wind gusts and isolated tornadoes. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles north and south of a line from 35 miles south southwest of Florence SC to 40 miles northeast of Cape Hatteras NC. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1). 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 27...WW 29...WW 30... 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 400. Mean storm motion vector 24035. ...Hart
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 9:50 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anson, Cabarrus, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland, Davidson and 13 more | 55 min |
| Feb 6, 10:12 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland and 20 more | 7 hr |
| Feb 6, 11:01 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Caswell, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin | 2 hr |
| Feb 6, 11:55 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Edgecombe, Franklin and 16 more | 65 min |
| Feb 6, 12:41 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Cumberland, Currituck and 28 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 6, 1:08 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anson, Chatham, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore and 3 more | 97 min |
| Feb 6, 4:00 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Duplin and 5 more | 60 min |
| Feb 6, 11:45 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Edgefield and 5 more | 90 min |
| Feb 6, 12:17 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Chesterfield and 12 more | 8 hr |
| Feb 6, 2:32 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon and 12 more | 58 min |
| Feb 6, 4:29 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Hampton and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Feb 6, 5:30 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton and 1 more | 7 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2020Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2020Every tornado watch 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.