Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 28, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 5, 1989Richmond County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 5, 1989, 8:49 PM EDT for Richmond County, North Carolina. It was in force for 56 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 5, 1989, 8:49 PM EDT (00:49 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 1989, 9:45 PM EDT
In force
56 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Richmond 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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 120 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 00:00Z on 1989-05-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 608 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 1989-05-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 439 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
608 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
607 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
439 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
552 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.9
Supercell composite
7.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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

Special weather statement, May 5, 4:39 PM EDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
435 PM EDT FRI MAY 5 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH FOR OCONEE...PICKENS...GREENVILLE...SPARTANBURG...
   ANDERSON...AND ABBEVILLE COUNTIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA UNTIL 9PM...

AT 430 PM EDT RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING
FROM NORTHWEST OF ATHENS GEORGIA TO SOUTHEAST OF ATLANTA. THIS SYSTEM
WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE INTO
THE UPSTATE AREuA OF SOUTH CAROLINA BETWEEN 500 PM AND 600 PM EDT THIS
AFTERNOON.

WARNINGS ARE BEING ISSUED IN GEORGIA FOR THESE STORMS. DAMAGING
WINDS AND TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN
SOUTH CAROLINA FROM THIS SYSTEM.

VALVERDE
Special weather statement, May 5, 5:17 PM EDT, 3 hours 32 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREER SC
515 PM EDT FRI MAY 5 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL COUNTIES IN THE UPSTATE OF
SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 510 PM EDT. RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING
JUST SOUTH OF OCONEE COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA TO NORTH OF MACON GEORGIA.
THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED BETWEEN ATHENS AND MACON. THESE STORMS
ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL MOVE INTO
ANDERSON...ABBEVILLE AND GREENWOOD COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA BY 545 PM
EDT.

VALVERDE
Special weather statement, May 5, 5:50 PM EDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
549 PM EDT FRI  MAY 5  1989

AT 540 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING
RAPIDLY IN THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA.  THE STRONGEST
STORMS WERE IN MACON COUNTY SOUTH OF FRANKLIN AND NEAR LAKE TOXAWAY
IN TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY.  THEY WERE MOVING NORTHEAST A 50 MPH.

ALSO SOME VERY STRONG STORMS WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS SPOTTED
IN OCONNEE COUNTY SOUTH CAROLINA.  THESE WERE ALSO MOVING NORTHEAST.

VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH FREQENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING HAIL AND VERY
STRONG WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

JUST NORTH OF DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE MORE THAN 2 INCHES(2.05) OF RAIN HAS
FALLEN SINCE AROUND 5PM.  SOME STREET FLOODING IS OCCURRING IN THE
CITY OF ASHEVILLE.
HM
Special weather statement, May 5, 6:01 PM EDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
600 PM EDT FRI MAY 5 1989

//////SEVERE WEATHER POSES AN UNUSAL THREAT THIS EVENING... BE
PREPARED//////

AT 555 THIS EVENING WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SEVERE WEATHER WELL EAST OF
CHARLOTTE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA.  A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 615 PM FOR MONTGOMERY
COUNTY.

THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE ALSO LOCATED OVER
SOUTHWESTERN AND NORTHEASTERN RICHMOND COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
THESE STORMS ARE BEING MONITORED CLOSELY AND MAY REQUIRE A WARNING.
EVERYONE IN RICHMOND COUNTY SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR SEVERE WEATHER
AS THIS THUNDERSTORM MOVES THROUGH.

MOVEMENT OF ALL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 35
MPH.

... A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR
CATAWBA... CLEVELAND... LINCOLN... GASTON... MECKLENBURG... UNION...
CABARRUS... IREDELL... ROWAN... STANLY... ANSON... RICHMOND AND
MONTGOMERY COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA.   THE SAME TORNADO WATCH IS
IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES OF CHEROKEE... YORK...
CHESTER AND LANCASTER...

THE COUNTIES GIVEN ARE ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF THE TORNADO WATCH
WHICH COVERS A LARGE PORTION OF BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA...

WELL TO THE SOUTHWEST OF CHARLOTTE IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA VIOLENT
WEATHER REQUIRING WARNINGS HAS BEEN REPORTED.  THIS ACTIVITY IS
MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT IN AN EXPLOSIVELY UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERE.  EVERYONE THROUGHOUT THE TORNADO WATCH AREA SHOULD TAKE
SEVERE WEATHER INTO CONSIDERATION WHILE THE TORNADO WATCH IS IN
EFFECT TONIGHT.  ONCE AGAIN THE TORNADO WATCH FOR A LARGE PORTION OF
BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT
TONIGHT.

THE NEXT SCHEDULED STATEMENT IS FOR 7 OCLOCK... BE ALERT AND PREPARED
SHOULD WARNINGS BE REQUIRED IN THE MEANTIME.

RK
Special weather statement, May 5, 6:45 PM EDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
647 PM EDT FRI MAY 5 1989

//////VERY...VERY EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AND CONDUCIVE TO
SEVERE WEATHER IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING CATAWBA COUNTY AND THE SOUTHERN
PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA FROM THE SOUTHWEST...  THIS WILL BE THE
SECOND WAVE OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT TODAY AND HAS
THE POTENTIAL FOR BEING THE MOST SIGNIFICANT OF THE TWO.  EVERYONE
SHOULD TAKE SEVERE WEATHER INTO CONSIDERATION THROUGH MIDNIGHT
TONIGHT...

AT 644 THIS EVENING A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS SHOWN BY RADAR FROM
WEST OF MORGANTON SOUTH INTO EXTREME WESTERN CLEVELAND COUNTY AND ON
SOUTH THROUGH SPARTANBURG AND LAURENS COUNTIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
THE STORMS IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES HAVE PRODUCED SEVERE
WEATHER IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA AND NUMEROUS WARNINGS HAVE BEEN
ISSUED. THESE STORMS OR OTHER SEVERE STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO THE
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA EARLY TONIGHT.

MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS WAS TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR
WHILE THE LINE MOVES EAST AT 15.

WELL TO THE EAST OF CHARLOTTE WHERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS WERE ISSUED
EARLIER WEATHER RADAR SHOWED ALL ACTIVITY HAD MOVED EAST TOWARD
FAYETTEVILLE AND RALEIGH.  BUT... SEVERE WEATHER WILL LIKELY RETURN
TO THESE COUNTIES LATER THIS EVENING.

... A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR
CATAWBA... CLEVELAND... LINCOLN... GASTON... MECKLENBURG... UNION...
CABARRUS... IREDELL... ROWAN... STANLY... ANSON... RICHMOND AND
MONTGOMERY COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA.   THE SAME TORNADO WATCH IS
IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES OF CHEROKEE... YORK...
CHESTER AND LANCASTER...

THE COUNTIES GIVEN ARE ON*LY A SMALL PORTION OF THE TORNADO WATCH
WHICH COVERS A LARGE PORTION OF BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA...

THE NEXT SCHEDULED STATEMENT IS FOR 8 OCLOCK... BE ALERT AND PREPARED
SHOULD WARNINGS BE REQUIRED IN THE MEANTIME.

KUHN
Special weather statement, May 5, 8:42 PM EDT, 7 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 8:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPUnion55 min
May 5, 8:11 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPAnson, Cabarrus, Stanly, Union64 min
May 5, 8:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMecklenburg34 min
May 5, 8:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMontgomery61 min
May 5, 9:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPStanly22 min
May 6, 12:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCleveland69 min
May 6, 12:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCatawba, Lincoln64 min
May 6, 12:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGaston64 min
May 6, 1:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCabarrus, Mecklenburg57 min
May 6, 1:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPAnson43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1989Every severe thunderstorm 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.