Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2022

Tornado Watch 186

May 6, 20227 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 6, 2022, 1:41 PM EDT for 7 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 6, 2022, 1:41 PM EDT (17:41 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 2022, 8:00 PM EDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected: 1.5 in
Strongest gust expected: 60 kt

All 138 counties

Banks County, GA, Catoosa County, GA, Dawson County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Gilmer County, GA, Habersham County, GA, Hall County, GA, Hart County, GA, Lumpkin County, GA, Murray County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Rabun County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Towns County, GA, Union County, GA, White County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Bell County, KY, Breathitt County, KY, Clay County, KY, Floyd County, KY, Harlan County, KY, Jackson County, KY, Knott County, KY, Knox County, KY, Laurel County, KY, Leslie County, KY, Letcher County, KY, McCreary County, KY, Owsley County, KY, Perry County, KY, Pike County, KY, Pulaski County, KY, Rockcastle County, KY, Wayne County, KY, Whitley County, KY, Alexander County, NC, Alleghany County, NC, Ashe County, NC, Avery County, NC, Buncombe County, NC, Burke County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Caldwell County, NC, Catawba County, NC, Cherokee County, NC, Clay County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Davie County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Graham County, NC, Haywood County, NC, Henderson County, NC, Iredell County, NC, Jackson County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, Macon County, NC, Madison County, NC, McDowell County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Mitchell County, NC, Polk County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Rutherford County, NC, Surry County, NC, Swain County, NC, Transylvania County, NC, Union County, NC, Watauga County, NC, Wilkes County, NC, Yadkin County, NC, Yancey County, NC, Abbeville County, SC, Anderson County, SC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Greenville County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Union County, SC, York County, SC, Anderson County, TN, Bledsoe County, TN, Blount County, TN, Bradley County, TN, Campbell County, TN, Carter County, TN, Claiborne County, TN, Cocke County, TN, Cumberland County, TN, Fentress County, TN, Grainger County, TN, Greene County, TN, Hamblen County, TN, Hamilton County, TN, Hancock County, TN, Hawkins County, TN, Jefferson County, TN, Johnson County, TN, Knox County, TN, Loudon County, TN, McMinn County, TN, Meigs County, TN, Monroe County, TN, Morgan County, TN, Pickett County, TN, Polk County, TN, Rhea County, TN, Roane County, TN, Scott County, TN, Sevier County, TN, Sullivan County, TN, Unicoi County, TN, Union County, TN, Washington County, TN, Bland County, VA, Buchanan County, VA, Carroll County, VA, City of Bristol, VA, City of Galax, VA, City of Norton, VA, Dickenson County, VA, Grayson County, VA, Lee County, VA, Russell County, VA, Scott County, VA, Smyth County, VA, Tazewell County, VA, Washington County, VA, Wise County, VA, Wythe County, VA, McDowell County, WV

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:43 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: 50%
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: 30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more: 20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports: 90%

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 6, 1:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Union	45 min
May 6, 1:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln	29 min
May 6, 1:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Blount, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Roane	49 min
May 6, 2:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Sevier	43 min
May 6, 2:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Laurel, Pulaski, Rockcastle	27 min
May 6, 2:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Loudon, McMinn, Monroe	26 min
May 6, 2:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Cherokee, Clay	27 min
May 6, 2:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Lumpkin, Union, White	23 min
May 6, 2:23 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	MRX	Blount, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Sevier	3 hr
May 6, 2:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Graham, Macon, Swain	24 min
May 6, 2:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Claiborne, Grainger, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins	46 min
May 6, 2:36 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Davie, Iredell, Rowan	39 min
May 6, 2:36 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Anderson, Blount, Knox	39 min
May 6, 2:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Clay, Jackson, Laurel, Owsley	46 min
May 6, 3:04 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JKL	Clay, Jackson, Owsley	26 min
May 6, 3:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Rhea, Roane	39 min
May 6, 3:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Jefferson	46 min
May 6, 3:16 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Yadkin	13 min
May 6, 3:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Hancock, Hawkins	20 min
May 6, 3:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Breathitt, Clay, Jackson, Lee, Leslie, Owsley and 1 more	42 min
May 6, 3:20 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JKL	Breathitt, Clay, Jackson, Owsley, Perry	25 min
May 6, 3:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Campbell, Claiborne, Scott	40 min
May 6, 3:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Catoosa, Dade, Walker	24 min
May 6, 3:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Cumberland	21 min
May 6, 3:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Bell, Clay, Knox, Leslie	24 min
May 6, 3:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Clay, Fentress, Overton, Pickett	47 min
May 6, 3:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Blount, McMinn, Monroe	46 min
May 6, 3:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe	38 min
May 6, 3:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Bradley, Hamilton	49 min
May 6, 3:45 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JKL	Breathitt, Owsley	30 min
May 6, 3:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Roane	45 min
May 6, 3:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Bell, Clay, Harlan, Leslie, Perry	29 min
May 6, 3:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Anderson, Morgan, Scott	41 min
May 6, 3:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Breathitt	35 min
May 6, 3:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Cocke, Greene	33 min
May 6, 3:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Catoosa, Murray, Whitfield	31 min
May 6, 4:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Greenville, Oconee, Pickens	24 min
May 6, 4:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Breathitt	23 min
May 6, 4:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Blount, Sevier	50 min
May 6, 4:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Breathitt, Harlan, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin and 1 more	33 min
May 6, 4:13 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GSP	Greenville, Pickens	21 min
May 6, 4:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Campbell	45 min
May 6, 4:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Anderson, Blount, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Sevier and 1 more	50 min
May 6, 4:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Greene, Sullivan, Washington	47 min
May 6, 4:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Russell, Washington, City of Bristol	44 min
May 6, 4:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Greenville, Pickens, Spartanburg	43 min
May 6, 4:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Breathitt, Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin	25 min
May 6, 4:36 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	MRX	Washington, City of Bristol	39 min
May 6, 4:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Union	50 min
May 6, 4:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Cocke, Jefferson, Sevier	43 min
May 6, 4:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Claiborne, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins and 2 more	50 min
May 6, 4:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	JKL	Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Martin	36 min
May 6, 4:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Sullivan, Washington	34 min
May 6, 5:03 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	MRX	Washington	42 min
May 6, 5:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cleveland, Polk, Rutherford	41 min
May 6, 5:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Smyth, Tazewell	56 min
May 6, 5:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cherokee, Chester, Laurens, Spartanburg, Union, York	47 min
May 6, 5:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Cocke, Greene, Unicoi, Washington	38 min
May 6, 5:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Johnson	37 min
May 6, 5:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Claiborne, Hancock	48 min
May 6, 5:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Richland	28 min
May 6, 5:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Chesterfield, Lancaster	36 min
May 6, 5:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	GSP	Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rutherford	49 min
May 6, 5:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Sullivan, Washington	49 min
May 6, 5:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Smyth	37 min
May 6, 5:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Carter, Greene, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington	49 min
May 6, 5:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Chesterfield, Kershaw, Lancaster	32 min
May 6, 5:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Union	31 min
May 6, 6:00 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GSP	Gaston, Mecklenburg	31 min
May 6, 6:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Avery, Mitchell, Yancey	39 min
May 6, 6:08 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cabarrus, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg and 1 more	52 min
May 6, 6:08 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bland, Wythe	52 min
May 6, 6:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Newberry	18 min
May 6, 6:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Sullivan	46 min
May 6, 6:26 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Yadkin	11 min
May 6, 6:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Chesterfield, Kershaw, Lancaster	31 min
May 6, 6:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Carter, Johnson, Sullivan	46 min
May 6, 6:29 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Wythe	31 min
May 6, 6:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	RNK	Ashe, Watauga	64 min
May 6, 6:51 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln	39 min
May 6, 6:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Avery, Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Mitchell	50 min
May 6, 6:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pulaski, Wythe	49 min
May 6, 6:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Russell, Washington	34 min
May 6, 6:59 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Surry, Yadkin	15 min
May 6, 7:01 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	JKL	Laurel, Pulaski, Rockcastle	3 hr
May 6, 7:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Stokes, Surry	53 min
May 6, 7:36 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Carroll, Grayson, Wythe, City of Galax	22 min
May 6, 7:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Catawba, Gaston, Lincoln	25 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 241 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 606 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 213 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 6, 6:42 AM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Clay, Early, Seminole	93 min
May 6, 11:39 AM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Barrow and 101 more	2 hr
May 6, 12:57 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill and 67 more	7 hr
May 6, 1:04 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Habersham, Lumpkin, Murray and 4 more	86 min
May 6, 3:22 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill and 66 more	113 min
May 6, 3:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler and 18 more	6 hr
May 6, 4:03 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Fannin, Habersham, Hart, Rabun, Stephens, Towns and 2 more	57 min
May 6, 6:15 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Charlton, Clinch, Echols	60 min
May 6, 2:06 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Boone, Boyle and 43 more	69 min
May 6, 1:53 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Alamance, Bertie, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Davidson and 30 more	2 hr
May 6, 2:32 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Caswell and 48 more	9 hr
May 6, 5:50 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender and 1 more	55 min
May 6, 5:51 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Caswell, Chatham and 33 more	84 min
May 6, 6:29 PM EDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke and 21 more	91 min
May 6, 6:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Bladen, Columbus, Robeson	2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2022 Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2022 Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2022 Every tornado watch in 2022

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.