Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at May 17, 1988, 2:40 PM EDT for Cleveland County, North Carolina. It was in force for 35 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
- May 17, 1988, 2:40 PM EDT (18:40 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 1988, 3:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 35 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cleveland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2:50 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Cleveland, 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, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 171 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
- 32 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -259 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1294 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 25 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 42 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KCLT 171840
TORCLT
NCC045-171915-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
240 PM EDT TUE MAY 17 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLOTTE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 315 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN WEST NORTH CAROLINA
...CLEVELAND
AT 237 THIS AFTERNOON WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO WAS LOCATED
OVER SOUTH CENTRAL CLEVELAND COUNTY AND WEST OF KINGS MOUNTAIN. A
FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED EARLIER BY A CITIZEN 10 TO 15 MILES NORTH OF
SHELBY.
MOVEMENT OF THE PARENT THUNDERSTORM OF THE TORNADO WEST OF KINGS
MOUNTAIN WAS TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.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, May 17, 12:26 PM EDT, 2 hours 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC 1225 EDT TUE MAY 17 1988 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR COUNTIES WEST OF HICKORY BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ASHEVILLE... ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN NOTED TO THE SOUTHEAST OF CHARLOTTE... ...THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED CLOSELY FOR SEVERE WEATHER AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON IN AND WITHIN 100 MILES OF CHARLOTTE... AT 1215 THIS AFTERNOON A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS MOVING THROUGH EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN UNION COUNTY. THIS STORM WILL BE INTO SOUTHEASTERN ANSON COUNTY BEFORE 1230. THE SOUTHERN ONE HALF OF ANSON COUNTY WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS THUNDERSTORM BY 115 THIS AFTERNOON. THEN LATER IN THE AFTERNOON THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE INTO RICHMOND COUNTY. TO THE WEST... THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY HAS BECOME WIDESPREAD IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CAROLINAS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF THIS AREA OF STORMS AND REQUIRED A WARNING FOR BURKE AND MCDOWELL COUNTIES OF THE TAR HEEL STATE. THAT WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 110 THIS AFTERNOON. EVERYONE IN THE FOOTHILLS OF NORTH CAROLINA SHOULD PREPARE FOR VIGORUS THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DURING THE EARLY PORTION OF THE AFTERNOON. THEN... BY 2 OCLOCK... THE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE INTO THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA. THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED JUST BEFORE 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON. RK
Special weather statement, May 17, 12:27 PM EDT, 2 hours 13 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC 1225 EDT TUE MAY 17 1988 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR COUNTIES WEST OF HICKORY BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ASHEVILLE... ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN NOTED TO THE SOUTHEAST OF CHARLOTTE... ...THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED CLOSELY FOR SEVERE WEATHER AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON IN AND WITHIN 100 MILES OF CHARLOTTE... AT 1215 THIS AFTERNOON A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS MOVING THROUGH EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN UNION COUNTY. THIS STORM WILL BE INTO SOUTHEASTERN ANSON COUNTY BEFORE 1230. THE SOUTHERN ONE HALF OF ANSON COUNTY WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS THUNDERSTORM BY 115 THIS AFTERNOON. THEN LATER IN THE AFTERNOON THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE INTO RICHMOND COUNTY. TO THE WEST... THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY HAS BECOME WIDESPREAD IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CAROLINAS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF THIS AREA OF STORMS AND REQUIRED A WARNING FOR BURKE AND MCDOWELL COUNTIES OF THE TAR HEEL STATE. THAT WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 110 THIS AFTERNOON. EVERYONE IN THE FOOTHILLS OF NORTH CAROLINA SHOULD PREPARE FOR VIGORUS THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DURING THE EARLY PORTION OF THE AFTERNOON. THEN... BY 2 OCLOCK... THE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE INTO THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA. THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED JUST BEFORE 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON. RK
Special weather statement, May 17, 1:07 PM EDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
100 PM EDT TUE MAY 17 1988
...TWO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES HAVE BEEN ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL
SEVERE STORMS FORECAST CENTER FOR A LARGE PORTION OF BOTH NORTH AND
SOUTH CAROLINA AS WELL AS VIRGINIA... THESE WATCHES ARE VALID UNTIL
8 PM EDT THIS AFTERNOON... ALL COUNTIES WITHIN A 50 NAUTICAL MILE
RADIUS AND BEYOND ARE WITHIN ONE OR THE OTHER OF THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCHES...
...MORE SPECIFICALLY THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA ARE
INCLUDED IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES...
CLEVELAND... CATAWBA... LINCOLN... GASTON... MECKLENBURG...
IREDELL... ROWAN... CABARRUS... UNION... ANSON... STANLY...
MONTGOMERY AND RICHMOND.
...IN SOUTH CAROLINA THE COUNTIES WITHIN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH AREAS INCLUDE...
CHEROKEE... YORK... CHESTER AND LANCASTER.
JUST BEFORE 1 OCLOCK WEATHER RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY
HEAVY RAIN MOVING INTO WESTERN AND SOUTHWESTERN RICHMOND COUNTY OF
NORTH CAROLINA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH SOUTHERN ANSON
COUNTY EARLIER IN THE AFTERNOON. NO SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS HAVE BEEN
RECEIVED FROM THE AREA OF THESE STORMS. HOWEVER... BRIEF PERIODS OF
VERY HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS SHOULD BE ANTICIPATED BY
EVERYONE IN RICHMOND COUNTY AS THE STORMS PASS THROUGH TO THE EAST
BETWEEN 1 AND 2 PM.
THUNDERSTORMS ALSO CONTINUE TO MOVE OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS AND INTO THE
FOOTHILLS. THESE STORMS CONTINUE TO LINE UP AND INTENSIFY RAPIDLY
AND WILL BE INTO CATAWBA AND CLEVELAND COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA BY
120 THIS AFTERNOON.
THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 150 THIS AFTERNOON.
RKSpecial weather statement, May 17, 1:11 PM EDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC 110 PM EDT TUE MAY 17 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM EDT... AT 100 PM NATIONAL SERVICE RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA ONCE AGAIN. A LINE OF STORMS WAS SHOWN FROM JUST NORTH OF LANDRUM IN NORTHERN SPARTANBURG COUNTY...ALONG THE NORTH CAROLINA BORDER...TO NEAR WALHALLA IN OCONEE COUNTY. THE STORM NEAR WALHALLA EARLIER PRODUCED PEA SIZE HAIL WHICH COVERED THE GROUND IN HABERSHAM COUNTY GEORGIA. THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF POTENTIAL FOR DANGEROUS THUNDERSTORM WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN THE UPSTATE. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...TV...OR RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. WAJ
Special weather statement, May 17, 1:58 PM EDT, 42 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
100 PM EDT TUE MAY 17 1988
...TWO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 OCLOCK
FOR A LARGE PORTION OF BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA AS WELL AS
VIRGINIA... ALL COUNTIES WITHIN A 50 NAUTICAL MILE RADIUS AND BEYOND
ARE WITHIN ONE OR THE OTHER OF THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES...
...MORE SPECIFICALLY THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA ARE
INCLUDED IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES...
CLEVELAND... CATAWBA... LINCOLN... GASTON... MECKLENBURG...
IREDELL... ROWAN... CABARRUS... UNION... ANSON... STANLY...
MONTGOMERY AND RICHMOND.
...IN SOUTH CAROLINA THE COUNTIES WITHIN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH AREAS INCLUDE...
CHEROKEE... YORK... CHESTER AND LANCASTER.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR CATAWBA COUNTY OF
NORTH CAROLINA UNTIL 230 THIS AFTERNOON. SEVERAL REPORTS OF PEA TO
MARBLE SIZE HAIL HAD BEEN RECEIVED BY 145 THIS AFTERNOON FROM WESTERN
CATAWBA COUNTY.
AT 150 THIS AFTERNOON VIGORUS THUNDERSTORMS WERE SHOWN BY RADAR TO
THE SOUTHWEST OF THE SEVERE STORM IN WESTERN CATAWBA COUNTY. THE
ACTIVITY CONTINUED ON TO THE SOUTHWEST WHERE A THUNDERSTORM WITH
INTENSE RAIN WAS MOVING INTO SOUTHWESTERN CLEVELAND COUNTY.
THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON IN RICHMOND
COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA HAD MOVED ON TO THE NORTHEAST. ANOTHER AREA
OF STORMS WAS MOVING INTO SOUTHPWESTERN RICHMOND COUNTY FROM SOUTH
CAROLINA AT 150 PM.
THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 300 THIS AFTERNOON... IN THE
MEANTIME BE ALERT SHOULD WARNINGS BE NEEDED.
RKSpecial weather statement, May 17, 2:00 PM EDT, 40 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT....
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
200 PM EDT TUE MAY 17 1988
...CORRECTION FOR TIME IN THE HEADING IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THIS LINE...
...TWO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 OCLOCK
FOR A LARGE PORTION OF BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA AS WELL AS
VIRGINIA... ALL COUNTIES WITHIN A 50 NAUTICAL MILE RADIUS AND BEYOND
ARE WITHIN ONE OR THE OTHER OF THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES...
...MORE SPECIFICALLY THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA ARE
INCLUDED IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES...
CLEVELAND... CATAWBA... LINCOLN... GASTON... MECKLENBURG...
IREDELL... ROWAN... CABARRUS... UNION... ANSON... STANLY...
MONTGOMERY AND RICHMOND.
...IN SOUTH CAROLINA THE COUNTIES WITHIN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH AREAS INCLUDE...
CHEROKEE... YORK... CHESTER AND LANCASTER.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR CATAWBA COUNTY OF
NORTH CAROLINA UNTIL 230 THIS AFTERNOON. SEVERAL REPORTS OF PEA TO
MARBLE SIZE HAIL HAD BEEN RECEIVED BY 145 THIS AFTERNOON FROM WESTERN
CATAWBA COUNTY.
AT 150 THIS AFTERNOON VIGORUS THUNDERSTORMS WERE SHOWN BY RADAR TO
THE SOUTHWEST OF THE SEVERE STORM IN WESTERN CATAWBA COUNTY. THE
ACTIVITY CONTINUED ON TO THE SOUTHWEST WHERE A THUNDERSTORM WITH
INTENSE RAIN WAS MOVING INTO SOUTHWESTERN CLEVELAND COUNTY.
THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON IN RICHMOND
COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA HAD MOVED ON TO THE NORTHEAST. ANOTHER AREA
OF STORMS WAS MOVING INTO SOUTHWESTERN RICHMOND COUNTY FROM SOUTH
CAROLINA AT 150 PM.
THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 300 THIS AFTERNOON... IN THE
MEANTIME BE ALERT SHOULD WARNINGS BE NEEDED.
RKUThe office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 8:04 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Gaston | 26 min |
| May 16, 9:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Stanly | 27 min |
| May 17, 12:06 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Burke, McDowell | 64 min |
| May 17, 1:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Transylvania | 57 min |
| May 17, 1:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Catawba | 52 min |
| May 17, 1:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Buncombe, Henderson | 62 min |
| May 17, 1:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Polk, Rutherford | 64 min |
| May 17, 2:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cleveland | 66 min |
| May 17, 2:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Caldwell | 58 min |
| May 17, 3:01 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Gaston | 44 min |
| May 17, 3:32 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 43 min |
| May 17, 3:45 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 30 min |
| May 17, 4:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 49 min |
| May 17, 4:32 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cabarrus, Union | 43 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988
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.