Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Charleston, SC

July 27, 1987Berkeley County, South Carolina

NWS Charleston, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 27, 1987, 7:10 PM EDT for Berkeley County, South Carolina. It was in force for 65 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 27, 1987, 7:10 PM EDT (23:10 UTC)
Expired
Jul 27, 1987, 8:15 PM EDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Berkeley County, SC

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 27, 7:20 PM EDTHail 0.75Berkeley, SC

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 33 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1987-07-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1451 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1987-07-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1451 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-62 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1004 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCHS 272310
SVRCHS
SCC015-280015-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
710 PM EDT MON JUL 27 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
          ...BERKELEY
 
AT 705PM EDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 13 MILES NORTH OF
CHARLESTON MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTH AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.
 
WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING.  DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS.  DON'T USE TELEPHONES
OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM
HAS PASSED.  MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 27, 4:43 PM EDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
441 PM EDT MON JUL 27 1987

1612 EDT...LARGE TREES BLOWN DOWN IN WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY
SOUTH CAROLINA NEAR HEMINGWAY...REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

RAO
Special weather statement, Jul 27, 4:53 PM EDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
441 PM EDT MON JUL 27 1987

..A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT..

FOR A LARGE PART OF SOUTH CAROLINA INCLUDING ALL OF THE COASTAL
COUNTIES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF JASPER AND BEAUFORT COUNTIES...

AT 4.30 PM...A LARGE AREA OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS AND SHOWERS
WERE OVER THE LOWER PIEMONT...MIDLANDS AND NORTHERN COASTAL COUNTIES
OF SOUTH CAROLINA.  A CLUSTER OF INTENSE THUNDERTORMS WERE LOCATED
BETWEEN SUMTER AND ABOUT 45 MILES NORTHWEST OF CHARLESTON.  ANOTHER
VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR GEORGETOWN.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS
LIGHNING.Y..SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...SOME FLOODING AS THEY MOVE
SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE MIDANDS.

MOVEMENT OF ALL RAIN WAS TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST 20 MILES AN HOUR.
ZEHR
Special weather statement, Jul 27, 5:49 PM EDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
540 PM EDT MON JUL 27 1987

..A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT..

FOR A LARGE PART OF SOUTH CAROLINA INCLUDING ALL OF THE COASTAL
COUNTIES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF JASPER AND BEAUFORT COUNTIES...

AT 5.30 PM...A LARGE AREA OF RAIN WITH THUNDERSTORMS...SOME INTENSE
...WERE OVER THE EASTERN PORTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA.  THE MOST INTENSE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED 15 MILES WEST OF COLUMBIA...ANOTHER NEAR
AUGUSTA GEORGIA  AND ANOTHER NEAR ALLENDALE.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS
LIGHNING...SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...SOME FLOODING AS THEY MOVE
SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE MIDANDS INTO EASTERN GEORGIA.

MOVEMENT OF ALL RAIN WAS TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST 10 MILES AN HOUR.

ZEHR
Special weather statement, Jul 27, 6:40 PM EDT, 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
640 PM EDT MON JUL 27 1987

..A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT..

FOR A LARGE PART OF SOUTH CAROLINA INCLUDING ALL OF THE COASTAL
COUNTIES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF JASPER AND BEAUFORT COUNTIES...

AT 6.30 PM...A LARGE AREA OF RAIN WITH THUNDERSTORMS...SOME INTENSE
...WERE OVER THE EASTERN PORTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA.  THE MOST INTENSE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED NEAR WAGENER...ANOTHER 5 MILES WEST OF
ALLENDALE AND ANOTHER 5 MILES SOUTH OF FAIRFAX.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS
LIGHNING...SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...SOME FLOODING AS THEY MOVE
SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE MIDANDS.

MOVEMENT OF ALL RAIN WAS TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST 10 MILES AN HOUR.

ZEHR

The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, SC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 27, 3:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSWilliamsburg60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.