Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2021

Tornado Watch 348

July 8, 20215 counties in North Carolina; 5 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 8, 2021, 2:01 AM EDT for 5 counties in North Carolina; 5 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jul 8, 2021, 2:01 AM EDT (06:01 UTC)
Expired: Jul 8, 2021, 9:00 AM EDT
In force: 7 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center
Strongest gust expected: 50 kt

Counties Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Columbus County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Pender County, NC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Horry County, SC, Marion County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 13 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:02 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

4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 8, 4:31 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Georgetown, Williamsburg	29 min
Jul 8, 5:25 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Georgetown, Horry	22 min
Jul 8, 7:46 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Georgetown, Horry	29 min
Jul 8, 8:57 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	ILM	Brunswick, Columbus	10 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, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 170 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1219 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 948 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 18 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

691 
WWUS20 KWNS 080558
SEL8  
SPC WW 080558
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-081300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 348
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
200 AM EDT Thu Jul 8 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Far southern North Carolina
  Northeast South Carolina
  Coastal Waters

* Effective this Thursday morning from 200 AM until 900 AM EDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible

SUMMARY...The threat of a couple tornadoes will shift northeast from
southeast South Carolina into far southern North Carolina this
morning.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 45 statute miles
either side of a line from 20 miles north northeast of Wilmington NC
to 50 miles southwest of Myrtle Beach SC. 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 347...

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 0 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 50 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
storm motion vector 16030.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 8, 1:38 AM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender, Robeson	2 hr
Jul 8, 7:09 AM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Duplin and 11 more	2 hr
Jul 8, 8:35 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven and 23 more	6 hr
Jul 8, 12:11 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 23 more	2 hr
Jul 8, 1:50 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare and 11 more	11 hr
Jul 8, 4:08 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford, Pasquotank and 2 more	2 hr
Jul 8, 6:48 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare and 8 more	117 min
Jul 7, 10:00 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Beaufort, Hampton, Jasper	2 hr
Jul 8, 5:25 AM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Berkeley, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion and 1 more	2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2021 Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2021 Every tornado watch in 2021

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.