Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

April 15, 1987Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1987, 11:17 AM EDT for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. It was in force for 63 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: Apr 15, 1987, 11:17 AM EDT (15:17 UTC)
Expired: Apr 15, 1987, 12:20 PM EDT
In force: 63 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Mecklenburg County, NC

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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 15, 11:17 AM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Mecklenburg, NC

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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 125 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: 616 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 236 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 277 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 KCLT 151524 COR
TORCLT
NCC119-151620-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTION FOR TIME...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
1017 AM EST WED APR 15 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1220 PM EST FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA... MECKLENBURG

AT 1115 AM POLICE DEPT REPORTER A TORNADO IN THE COOLWOOD SHOPPING
CENTER IN NORTH MECKLENBURG COUNTY. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST.

IF YOU ARE TRAPPED OUTDOORS AWAY FROM SAFE SHELTER GO TO A DITCH
OR LOW AREA.  GET AS LOW AS POSSIBLE AND PROTECT YOUR
HEAD AND CHEST.  BE AWARE OF POSSIBLE FLOODING IN DRAINAGE DITCHES
AND STORM CULVERTS.  STAY AWAY FROM TALL TREES.
TUNE TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATION...WXL-70 OR YOUR FAVORITE
RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THIS WARNING.

JPW

What forecasters said that day

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

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 15, 8:51 AM EDT, 2 hours 26 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
850 AM EDT WED APR 15 1987

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR OCONEE..PICKENS..
   AND ANDERSON COUNTIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA...
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES FOR THE REMAINING UPSTATE
   COUNTIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA UNTIL 10AM EDT...

AT 8.45 AM SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTROMS WERE SCATTERED OVER UNION..
SPARTANBURG..CHEROKEE..AND LAURENS COUNTY.  THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS
INDICATED OVER NORTHERN SPARTANBURG COUNTY.

THE SHOWERS AND STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AROUND 20 MPH.

ALL PERSONS IN THE EASTERN PIEDMONT OF SOUTH CAROLINA SHOULD REMAIN
ALERT...AND BE READY TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION IF THREATENING WEATHER
APPROACHES.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER AND DAMAGES...ASK ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY TO RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
MUSGROVE

Special weather statement, Apr 15, 10:52 AM EDT, 25 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
1050 AM EDT WED APR 15 1987

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 3PM FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
   AND EASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA...INCLUDING CHEROKEE COUNTY...

AT 10.45 AM WEATHER RADAR DETECTED NO PRECIPITATION OCCURRING
WITHIN THE UPSTATE AREA OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

REMEMBER....A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP IN AND CLOSE TO
THE WA'TCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS.. AND LISTEN FREQUENTLY TO NOAA
WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST BULLETINS.
MUSGROVE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 15, 2:44 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cherokee	56 min
Apr 15, 3:56 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Clay	64 min
Apr 15, 8:42 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Polk	58 min
Apr 15, 2:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	60 min
Apr 15, 4:09 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	31 min
Apr 15, 4:54 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	46 min
Apr 15, 5:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Union	56 min
Apr 15, 5:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	51 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1987 Every tornado warning in 1987 Tornadoes 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.