Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 1989

Flash Flood Warning 39, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

September 22, 1989Lincoln County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Sep 22, 1989, 8:36 AM EDT for Lincoln County, North Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 22, 1989, 8:36 AM EDT (12:36 UTC)
Expired
Sep 22, 1989, 12:45 PM EDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Lincoln County, NC

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 136 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 1989-09-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 293 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 1989-09-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 657 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
293 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
666 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
81 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
657 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
944 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
13.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCLT 221237
FFWCLT
NCC109-221645-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
836 AM EDT FRI SEP 22 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLOTTE HAS ISSUED A
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST NORTH CAROLINA
          ...LINCOLN
 
HOYLE CREEK IN LINCOLN COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA WILL OVERFLOW ITS
BANKS BEFORE 9 AM THIS MORNING. RAINS OF 3 TO 4 INCHES OR MORE HAVE
BEEN REPORTED THROUGHOUT THE AREA. DAMMING OF WATER HAS OCCURRED ON
HOYLE CREEK FROM FALLEN TREES.
 
HOYLE CREEK EMPTIES INTO THE SOUTH FORK OF THE CATAWBA RIVER WHICH
WILL BE MONITORED CLOSELY.
 
THE ONLY OTHER FLOODING THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT... NORTHERN FOOAND SANDHILLS OF NORTH CAROLINA HAS BEEN FROM POOLING OF WATER IN
MECKLENBURG COUNTY.  THROUGH 830 THIS MORNING NO FLOODING OF STREAMS
EXCEPT HOYLE CREEK HAS BEEN REPORTED.
 
EVERYONE MUST BE ALERT FOR FLOODING FROM HEAVY RAINS OF THE MORNING
WITH STILL MORE RAIN TO FALL.
 
 
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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, Sep 22, 3:18 AM EDT, 5 hours 18 minutes before
BULLETIN
FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT AND SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
315 AM EDT FRI SEP 22 1989

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THE DAY...
...HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH THE DAY...
...TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF SOUTH CAROLINA UNTIL 800 AM EDT...

AT 305 AM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A RAIN BAND APPROACHING UNION
COUNTY IN UPSTATE COUNTY.  THIS BAND WILL MOVE FROM THE EAST TOWARD THE
WEST ACROSS THE COUNTY.  THIS BAND IS PART OF THE RAIN BANDS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE CENTRAL PART OF HURRICANE HUGO...ALTHOUGH THE CENTER OF THE
STORM IS WELL TO THE SOUTHEAST OF UNION COUNTY.  THE WIND IN THIS BAND
IS LIKELY MUCH STRONGER THAN WINDS EXPERIENCED SO FAR IN THE UPSTATE...
WITH GUSTS TO PERHAPS AS MUCH AS 70 MPH.  VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO
OCCUR WITH THE PASSAGE OF THIS BAND...AND PEOPLE SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
THE POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES IN THE STRONGEST RAIN
BANDS.  NO TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN THE UPSTATE SO FAR.
WAJ
Special weather statement, Sep 22, 3:44 AM EDT, 4 hours 52 minutes before
BULLETIN
FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT AND SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
343 AM EDT FRI SEP 22 1989

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THE DAY...
...HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH THE DAY...
...TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF SOUTH CAROLINA UNTIL 800 AM EDT...

AT 330 AM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED THE RAIN BAND WITH HIGH WINDS JUST
ABOUT ACROSS UNION COUNTY...MOVING FROM EAST TOWARD THE WEST.  UNION
COUNTY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS REPORTED NUMEROUS TREES DOWN THERE.  THE
BAND WILL MOVE ACROSS LAURENS COUNTY AND SOUTHERN SPARTANBURG COUNTY
BY 415 AM.  MEANWHILE...ANOTHER LARGER RAIN BAND WAS MOVING TOWARD
UNION COUNTY.

WAJ
Special weather statement, Sep 22, 3:58 AM EDT, 4 hours 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
400 AM EDT FRI SEP 22 1989

A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PORTION OF BOTH NORTH
AND SOUTH CAROLINA INCLUDING THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT ... THE NORTHERN
FOOTHILLS ... AND THE SANDHILLS OF NORTH CAROLINA UNTIL 8 AM.

A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NEARLY ALL OF NORTH
CAROLINA INCLUDING THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT ... THE NORTHERN FOOTHILLS
... AND THE SANDHILLS OF NORTH CAROLINA UNTIL NOON TODAY.

A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA THROUGH
TODAY.

AS THE CENTER OF HUGO CONTINUES TO PUSH TOWARD THE NORTHWEST ACROSS
SOUTH CAROLINA TOWARD WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA THIS MORNING ... WIND
SPEEDS AND RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE.  THE PRESENT TRACK OF
THIS STORM WILL TAKE THE CENTER NEAR AND PROBABLY JUST WEST OF
CHARLOTTE.

JUST AFTER 3 THIS MORNING ... CHARLOTTE THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER
REPORTED A GUST TO 60 MPH.

AT 4 AM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE WAS RECORDING SUSTAINED
WINDS OF ABOUT 40 MPH WITH FREQUENT GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH.

THIS OFFICE HAD RECEIVED NUMEROUS REPORTS OF GREEN OR BLUE FLASHES
OCCURRING AS POWER LINES WERE FORCED INTO CONTACT ... AND
TRANSFORMERS WERE BEING "BLOWN."

RAY BOYLAN ... A LOCAL METEOROLOGIST ... RELAYED A PUBLIC SIGHTING OF
A TORNADO ... ALONG THE UNION-MECKLENBURG COUNTY BORDER NEAR THE TOWN
OF MINT HILL NORTH CAROLINA AT 345 AM.  INVESTIGATION OF THE EVENT
REVEALED A VERY LARGE TREE UPROOTED FALLING ACROSS A CAR PORT.
ABOIUT THE SAME TIME ... AN AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR REPORTED AN 80
FOOT ANTENNA BLOWN DOWN ON RAMA ROAD IN SOUTHEAST CHARLOTTE.

THE NEXT STATEMENT BY THIS OFFICE WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 6 AM.

CLARK
Special weather statement, Sep 22, 4:54 AM EDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before
BULLETIN
FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT AND SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
453 AM EDT FRI SEP 22 1989

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THE DAY...
...HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH THE DAY...

AT 440 AM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED RAIN BANDS WITH HIGH WINDS ACROSS
THE EASTERN HALF OF THE UPSTATE.  TREES AND POWER LINES HAVE BEEN BLOWN
DOWN OVER PARTS OF SPARTANBURG...UNION...AND CHEROKEE COUNTIES.  IN
CHEROKEE COUNTY THERE HAS BEEN A REPORT OF A MOBILE HOME BLOWN OVER
BETWEEN GAFFNEY AND CHESNEE.  IN GREENVILLE COUNTY...THE MAULDIN POLICE
REPORTED TREES DOWN WITH POWER OUTAGES.

THE RADAR SHOWED A STRONG RAIN BAND ONCE AGAIN MOVING THROUGH UNION
COUNTY...THIS SAME BAND W5ILL AFFECT CHEROKEE...LAURENS...AND POSSIBLY
SPARTANBURG COUNTY WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 55 TO 65 MPH.

WAJ
Special weather statement, Sep 22, 5:20 AM EDT, 3 hours 16 minutes before
BULLETIN
FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT AND SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
518 AM EDT FRI SEP 22 1989

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THE DAY...
...HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH THE DAY...

SPARTANBURG COMMUNICATIONS REPORTED NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
ACROSS THE CITY...AND A TIN ROOF BLOWN OFF A HOUSE IN PAULINE.  THE
GREER POLICE REPORTED TREES DOWN THERE WITH POWER OUT IN MOST OF THE
CITY.

AT 510 AM EDT RADAR SHOWED THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG WINDS ACROSS
SPARTANBURG...CHEROKEE...UNION...EASTERN LAURENS...AND PERHAPS PARTS
OF GREENVILLE COUNTY.

VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS ALSO FALLING ACROSS MUCH OF THE SAME AREA...WITH
MORE HEAVY RAIN NEAR THE GEORGIA BORDEGR.
WAJ
Special weather statement, Sep 22, 7:14 AM EDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
BULLETIN
FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT AND SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
710 AM EDT FRI SEP 22 1989

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THE DAY...
...HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH THE DAY...

AT 706 AM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED NUMEROUS SHOWER OVER THE UPSTATE
AREA OF SOUTH CAROLINA. THE SHOWERS ARE MOVING VERY SLOWLY.

AT THE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG AIRPORT 1/2 OF AN INCH OF RAIN FELL
SINCE MIDNIGHT.

VERY HEAVY RAIN CONTI+NUES TO FALL ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THIS MORNING
AND MAY CAUSE FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS.
VALVERDE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 22, 7:49 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPAvery, Mitchell, Yancey4 hr
Sep 22, 7:49 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPAshe, Watauga4 hr
Sep 22, 8:58 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPBurke, Caldwell3 hr
Sep 22, 8:58 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPMcDowell3 hr
Sep 22, 9:27 AM EDTTornado WarningGSPBurke, Caldwell63 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in North Carolina, 1989Every flash flood warning in 1989

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.