A person burning debris started a wildfire in Hampstead, beginning near 348 Cross Creek Drive.
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The episode as NWS ILM wrote it up.
A person burning debris started a wildfire in Hampstead, beginning near 348 Cross Creek Drive.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 14, 9:55 AM EST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1055 AM EDT SAT APR 14 2012 .SYNOPSIS... WARMER TEMPERATURES RETURN TODAY AS HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTS OFF THE COAST. THIS SUMMER- LIKE BERMUDA HIGH WILL BRING WARM WEATHER THROUGH TUESDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL BRING RAIN CHANCES LATE TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY FOLLOWED BY SEASONABLE LATE WEEK TEMPERATURES. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 1030 AM SATURDAY...WIND FIELD AND SURFACE PRESSURE ANALYSIS SHOW THAT THE CENTER OF THE CANADIAN HIGH RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BELOW CLIMO TEMPS HAS SHIFTED OFFSHORE. WEAK WARM ADVECTION TODAY COMBINED WITH MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES WILL PUSH HIGHS CLOSE TO CLIMO...MID 70S. THE ONLY EXCEPTION WILL BE ALONG THE COAST WHERE THE SEABREEZE WILL KEEP HIGHS A LITTLE COOLER. FORECAST SOUNDINGS DO SHOW A SMALL LAYER OF MUCH HIGHER RH NEAR THE TOP OF THE MIXED LAYER. WOULD EXPECT TO SEE SOME AFTERNOON CU DEVELOP BETWEEN 5K AND 6K FT OR SO...THOUGH AT MOST 2K FT THICK. STRONG SUBSIDENCE UNDER BUILDING 5H RIDGE WILL STOP CU FROM BECOMING ANY DEEPER AND PREVENT ANY PRECIP. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 3 AM SATURDAY...BROAD MID LEVEL RIDGE WILL BE CENTERED OVER FLORIDA AND THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO ON SUNDAY WHILE SURFACE BERMUDA HIGH IN PLACE. THE FORMER WILL SPONSOR A WARM AND DRY COLUMN WITH NEARLY CLOUD-FREE CONDITIONS AND ABOVE SEASONABLE TEMPS. THE LATTER WILL BRING SOME LOW LEVEL MOISTURE PUSHING DEWPOINTS UP INTO THE MID TO UPPER 50S. THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE BOUNDARY LAYERS AND THE MID LEVELS WILL CONTAIN A THIN LAYER OF MOISTURE SUFFICIENT FOR SCATTERED CU DEVEL BETWEEN 2-3KFT. THE UPPER RIDGE BOTH PROGRESSES EAST AND BUILDS IN AMPLITUDE COME MONDAY. THE BACKING OF FLOW TO SOUTHWESTERLY WOULD NORMALLY IMPLY THAT SOME MID LEVEL MOISTURE MANAGES TO ADVECT INTO THE REGION BUT FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW THAT THE BUILDING HEIGHTS WIN OUT AND THAT RH ALOFT INSTEAD LOWERS FURTHER. AN EVEN WARMER AFTERNOON WITH SLIGHTLY HIGHER HUMIDITY (DEWPOINTS CLIMB INTO THE 60S) EXPECTED. A FEW SCATTERED CU ARE STILL EXPECTED BENEATH THE BASE OF A SUBSIDENCE INVERSION AT ABOUT 5KFT. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... AS OF 3 AM SATURDAY...ONE LAST DAY OF UNSEASONABLE WARMTH TUESDAY AS FEATURES BOTH SURFACE AND ALOFT CONTINUE TO PROGRESS EASTWARD. THE UPPER RIDGE WILL BE OFF THE COAST AND A COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE WEST. THIS BOUNDARY WILL COME THROUGH SOME TIME WEDNESDAY. IT REPRESENTS THE ONLY APPRECIABLE RAINFALL CHANCES FOR THE ENTIRE FORECAST CYCLE AND UNFORTUNATELY WILL OFFER LITTLE IN THE WAY OF QPF. LOW AMPLITUDE MID LEVEL FLOW BEYOND THE FRONTAL PASSAGE WILL GENERALLY FAVOR DRY WEATHER AND NEAR CLIMO TEMPS EARLY ON FOLLOWED BY A VERY GRADUAL WARMUP. && .AVIATION /14Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... AS OF 12Z...HIGH CONFIDENCE FOR VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. HIGH PRESSURE WILL SHIFT OFFSHORE TODAY ALLOWING FOR SOUTHWEST FLOW TO RETURN. THE GRADIENT INCREASES THIS AFTERNOON...WITH GUSTS TO 20 KTS LIKELY. WINDS WILL DIMINISH SOMEWHAT THIS EVENING...BUT SHOULD STAY ABOVE 5 KTS FOR MOST OF THE NIGHT...LITTLE OR NO FOG EXPECTED. EXTENDED OUTLOOK...POTENTIAL FOR LATE NIGHT/EARLY MORNING GROUND FOG COULD INCREASE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. SHOWERS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY. && .MARINE... NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 1030 AM SATURDAY...LIGHT EAST TO SOUTHEAST FLOW OVER THE WATERS THIS MORNING WILL INCREASE AND BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY AS CANADIAN HIGH SHIFTS FARTHER OFF THE NC COAST AND GRADIENT TIGHTENS. SEABREEZE WILL ADD A SLIGHT BUMP TO SPEEDS ALONG THE COAST AND RESULT IN FLOW BECOMING MORE ONSHORE. SEAS WILL 1 TO 2 FT. SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 3 AM SATURDAY...AN UNCHANGING SURFACE PRESSURE PATTERN IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. HIGH PRESSURE WELL OFF THE GEORGIA COAST WILL REMAIN QUASI-STATIONARY LEADING TO A SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW LOCALLY. WITH LITTLE FLUCTUATION IN GRADIENT WIND SPEED WILL SHOW MINIMAL VARIATIONS SAVE FOR THE LOCAL ACCELERATION ALONG THE COAST ASSOCIATED WITH THE SEA BREEZE. SEAS WILL AVERAGE 2 TO 3 FT WITH THE WIND CHOP THE PREDOMINANT SEA AND A LESSER SWELL COMPONENT. LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 3 AM SATURDAY...SOME UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE EXACT TIMING OF COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE CURRENTLY SLATED FOR SOME TIME WEDNESDAY. SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS START OFF THE PERIOD THEN AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY...WHICH WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SHARP VEER TO A MORE NORTHERLY AND OFFSHORE FLOW. THE SEAS MAY GAIN A CHOPPY ELEMENT OF CONFUSION AS THIS HAPPENS BUT NO APPRECIABLE BUILDING OF SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT IS FORECAST AT THIS TIME. A LIGHT GRADIENT MAY SET UP FOR A TIME AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE FRONT BRINGING SOME UNCERTAINTY INTO THE FORECAST LATE IN THE PERIOD. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. NC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && NEAR TERM...III SHORT TERM...MBB LONG TERM...MBB AVIATION...43
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 606 AM EDT SAT APR 14 2012 AMZ250-252-254-256-NCZ087-096-099-105>110-SCZ017-023-024-032-033-039- 053>056-151015- SURF CITY TO CAPE FEAR NC OUT 20 NM- CAPE FEAR NC TO LITTLE RIVER INLET SC OUT 20 NM- LITTLE RIVER INLET TO MURRELLS INLET SC OUT 20 NM- MURRELLS INLET TO SOUTH SANTEE RIVER SC OUT 20 NM-ROBESON-BLADEN- COLUMBUS-INLAND PENDER-COASTAL PENDER-INLAND NEW HANOVER- COASTAL NEW HANOVER-INLAND BRUNSWICK-COASTAL BRUNSWICK-MARLBORO- DARLINGTON-DILLON-FLORENCE-MARION-WILLIAMSBURG-INLAND HORRY- COASTAL HORRY-INLAND GEORGETOWN-COASTAL GEORGETOWN- 606 AM EDT SAT APR 14 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS...SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A wildfire burned 450 to 500 acres between Cross Creek Drive and Hoover Road. There were no structures damaged except a bridge on a logging road. Eight plows and seven aircraft were assigned to the fire that spread quickly and took hours to get under control.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2012
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 379570.