Alert archive / South Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Columbia, SC

October 10, 1990Richland County, Sumter County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this flash flood warning at Oct 10, 1990, 7:31 PM EDT for Richland County, Sumter County, South Carolina. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 10, 1990, 7:31 PM EDT (23:31 UTC)
Expired
Oct 10, 1990, 10:30 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Richland County, SC, Sumter County, SC

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

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 133 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 1990-10-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 825 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 1990-10-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 168 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
825 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
558 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
188 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
7.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCAE 102333
FFWCAE
SCC079-085-110230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
731 PM EDT WED OCT 10 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1030 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...RICHLAND COUNTY...SUMTER COUNTY
 
AT 725 PM EDT VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN
PORTIONS OF RICHLAND COUNTY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES HAVE
BEEN REPORTED DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS. THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY
HEAVY WILL MOVE ACROSS ACROSS THE COUNTY DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
RAINFALL FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 3 INCHES.
 
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT.  IT'S
IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO STREAMS...RIVERS...OR
CREEKS WHICH CAN BECOME KILLERS IN HEAVY RAINS.  CAMPERS SHOULD
AVOID CAMPING ALONG STREAMS OR CREEKS DURING THREATENING RAINS.

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, Oct 10, 5:52 PM EDT, 1 hour 39 minutes before
SCZ003-004-005-006-102200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
545 PM EDT THU OCT 4 1990

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 530 PM EDT RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS...SOME PRODUCING
VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER THE SOUTH MIDLANDS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS
WERE LOCATED IN BAMBERG...ORANGEBURG...CALHOUN AND SUMTER COUNTIES.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTH AT 20 MPH.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT LIGHTNING
AND GUSTY WINDS AS THEY PASS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE
POSSIBLE IN 3 HOURS ARE POSSIBLE AND WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF ROADS
...UNDERPASSES AND LOW LYING AREAS.
Y
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO EASTERN RICHLAND...SUMTER...LEE
...KERSHAW AND LANCASTER COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE PIEDMONTS AND MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
LIGHT RAIN WAS OCCURRING.

CDL
Special weather statement, Oct 10, 5:55 PM EDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before
SCZ003-004-005-006-102200-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
545 PM EDT THU OCT 4 1990

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 530 PM EDT RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS...SOME PRODUCING
VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER THE SOUTH MIDLANDS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS
WERE LOCATED IN BAMBERG...ORANGEBURG...CALHOUN AND SUMTER COUNTIES.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTH AT 20 MPH.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT LIGHTNING
AND GUSTY WINDS AS THEY PASS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE
POSSIBLE IN 3 HOURS AND WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF ROADS...UNDERPASSES
AND LOW LYING AREAS.

THESE THUNDERST\ORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO EASTERN RICHLAND...SUMTER...LEE
...KERSHAW AND LANCASTER COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE PIEDMONTS AND MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
LIGHT RAIN WAS OCCURRING.

CDL
Special weather statement, Oct 10, 6:04 PM EDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
SCZ003-004-005-006-102200-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
602 PM EDT WED OCT 10 1990

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 530 PM EDT RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS...SOME PRODUCING
VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER THE SOUTH MIDLANDS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS
WERE LOCATED IN BAMBERG...ORANGEBURG...CALHOUN AND SUMTER COUNTIES.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTH AT 20 MPH.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT LIGHTNING
AND GUSTY WINDS AS THEY PASS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE
POSSIBLE IN 3 HOURS AND WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF ROADS...UNDERPASSES
AND LOW LYING AREAS.

THESE THUNbDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO EASTERN RICHLAND...SUMTER...LEE
...KERSHAW AND LANCASTER COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE PIEDMONTS AND MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
LIGHT RAIN WAS OCCURRING.

CDL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 10, 6:08 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCAEOrangeburg3 hr
Oct 10, 6:50 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningCAECalhoun3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in South Carolina, 1990Every flash flood warning in 1990

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.