Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 349
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 8, 2021, 8:35 AM EDT for 29 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 8, 2021, 8:35 AM EDT (12:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 8, 2021, 3:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Strongest gust expected
- 50 kt
All 29 counties
Beaufort County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Craven County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Dare County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Greene County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Nash County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pender County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC
The radar
The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:36 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
- 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
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 8:57 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 10 min |
| Jul 8, 9:10 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick | 18 min |
| Jul 8, 11:17 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Wayne | 28 min |
| Jul 8, 11:54 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Franklin, Nash | 36 min |
| Jul 8, 12:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Greene, Pitt | 35 min |
| Jul 8, 12:31 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Wilson | 15 min |
| Jul 8, 12:33 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Greene, Pitt | 27 min |
| Jul 8, 2:44 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Hyde | 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, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 60 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
- 2167 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 669 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 68 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.6
The text
As transmitted.
614 WWUS20 KWNS 081233 SEL9 SPC WW 081233 NCZ000-CWZ000-081900- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 349 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 835 AM EDT Thu Jul 8 2021 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Eastern North Carolina Coastal Waters * Effective this Thursday morning and afternoon from 835 AM until 300 PM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible SUMMARY...A diurnal increase in tornado potential associated with Tropical Storm Elsa is possible as it progresses northeast across NC into mid-afternoon. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 65 statute miles east and west of a line from 65 miles east northeast of Rocky Mount NC to 25 miles south southwest of Wilmington NC. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9). 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 348... 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 17030. ...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, 2:01 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender | 7 hr |
| Jul 8, 7:09 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Duplin and 11 more | 2 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 |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2021Every 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.