Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2023
Tornado Watch 721
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 10, 2023, 1:31 PM EST for 45 counties in North Carolina; 37 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 10, 2023, 1:31 PM EST (18:31 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 10, 2023, 9:05 PM EST
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 55 kt
All 82 counties
Beaufort County, NC, Bertie County, NC, Camden County, NC, Carteret County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Chowan County, NC, Craven County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Currituck County, NC, Dare County, NC, Duplin County, NC, Durham County, NC, Edgecombe County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Gates County, NC, Granville County, NC, Greene County, NC, Halifax County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hertford County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Hyde County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Jones County, NC, Lee County, NC, Lenoir County, NC, Martin County, NC, Moore County, NC, Nash County, NC, Northampton County, NC, Onslow County, NC, Orange County, NC, Pamlico County, NC, Pasquotank County, NC, Perquimans County, NC, Person County, NC, Pitt County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Tyrrell County, NC, Vance County, NC, Wake County, NC, Warren County, NC, Washington County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Wilson County, NC, Amelia County, VA, Brunswick County, VA, Charles City County, VA, Chesterfield County, VA, City of Chesapeake, VA, City of Colonial Heights, VA, City of Emporia, VA, City of Franklin, VA, City of Hampton, VA, City of Hopewell, VA, City of Newport News, VA, City of Norfolk, VA, City of Petersburg, VA, City of Poquoson, VA, City of Portsmouth, VA, City of Richmond, VA, City of Suffolk, VA, City of Virginia Beach, VA, City of Williamsburg, VA, Dinwiddie County, VA, Gloucester County, VA, Greensville County, VA, Hanover County, VA, Henrico County, VA, Isle of Wight County, VA, James City County, VA, King and Queen County, VA, King William County, VA, Lunenburg County, VA, Mecklenburg County, VA, New Kent County, VA, Nottoway County, VA, Prince George County, VA, Southampton County, VA, Surry County, VA, Sussex County, VA, York County, VA
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:33 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
- 30%
- 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
- 50%
Warnings issued inside it
6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10, 3:08 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Franklin, Wake | 52 min |
| Dec 10, 3:53 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Franklin, Halifax, Vance, Wake, Warren | 52 min |
| Dec 10, 3:57 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Halifax, Warren | 33 min |
| Dec 10, 4:02 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Franklin, Warren | 28 min |
| Dec 10, 4:08 PM EST | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Northampton | 37 min |
| Dec 10, 4:22 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | AKQ | Hanover, Henrico | 3 hr |
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, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 173 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
- 97 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -28 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 702 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 101 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 112 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.4
The text
As transmitted.
689 WWUS20 KWNS 101828 SEL1 SPC WW 101828 NCZ000-VAZ000-CWZ000-110100- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 721 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 130 PM EST Sun Dec 10 2023 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Central and Eastern North Carolina Southeast Virginia Coastal Waters * Effective this Sunday afternoon and evening from 130 PM until 800 PM EST. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 65 mph possible SUMMARY...A moist environment and stronger deep-layer/low-level winds will support a long duration (into this evening) of at least isolated severe storm potential, including a risk for tornadoes and damaging winds. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 80 statute miles east and west of a line from 45 miles northwest of Norfolk VA to 20 miles west of Jacksonville 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 720... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 55 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 22040. ...Guyer
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 9, 10:31 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee | 119 min |
| Dec 10, 12:40 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee | 65 min |
| Dec 10, 12:36 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville and 16 more | 114 min |
| Dec 10, 1:05 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret and 19 more | 2 hr |
| Dec 10, 4:53 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven and 22 more | 97 min |
| Dec 9, 9:53 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Lee, Scott, Wise, City of Bristol, City of Norton | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2023Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2023Every tornado watch in 2023
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.