Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 32, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

October 10, 1990Union County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Oct 10, 1990, 9:08 PM EDT for Union County, North Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 10, 1990, 9:08 PM EDT (01:08 UTC)
Expired
Oct 11, 1990, 1:15 AM EDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Union 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

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 237 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 00:00Z on 1990-10-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1733 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 1990-10-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 184 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
1733 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
550 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
184 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
254 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
8.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCLT 110108
FFWCLT
NCC179-110515-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
908 PM EDT WED OCT 10 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLOTTE HAS ISSUED A
SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  115 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
          ...UNION
 
FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED IN UNION COUNTY BY THE UNION COUNTY
COMMUNICATIONS CENTER. THE AREA OF MOST IMMINENT CONCERN IS IN THE
IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF STALLINGS NEAR THE MATTHEWS AND INDIAN TRAIL
ROAD SECTION AND ALONG SECREST/SHORT CUT ROAD. THESE AREAS ARE LOCATED
ABOUT 14 AIR MILES EAST OF THE CITY OF CHARLOTTE. REPORTS WERE ALSO
RECEIVED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER OF SEVERAL INCHES OF WATER
COVERING DIPS IN ROADS AND OVER A FEW LOW BRIDGES NEAR STREAMS FROM
SEVERAL OTHER SECTIONS AROUND THE COUNTY. UNION COUNTY RESIDENTS ARE
ADVISED TO CONTACT THE COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER OR LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES TO REPORT ADDITIONAL FLOODING OR TO OBTAIN INFORMATION WHERE
SHELTERS ARE BEING SET UP.
 
 
 
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.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.
 
RNM

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, 6:25 PM EDT, 2 hours 43 minutes before
NCZ007-008-014-110200

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
625 PM EDT WED OCT 10 1990

...HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUES OVER CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...

AT 600 THIS EVENING NEARLY 2 INCHES OF RAIN HAD FALLEN AT DOUGLAS
AIRPORT AND NUMEROUS ROADS THROUGHOUT THE AREA ARE EXPERIENCING WATER
OVERRRUNING ONTO STREETS AND HIGHWAYS.

ALL MOTORISTS IN THE GENERAL VICINITY OF METROLINA CHARLOTTE SHOULD
EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION AS HYDROPLANNING ON ROADS CAN EASILY OCCUR.
AN ADDITIONAL HAZARD IS THE LOWERED VISIBILITY IN THE RAIN AND FOG.
THE VISIBILITY WAS AVERAGING AROUND 1 MILE BUT THERE ARE LIKELY
POCKETS IN AREAS WHERE THE VISIBILITY WILL BE LOWER.

THUS FAR THIS EVENING...NO FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED FOR THE
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT OR FOOTHILLS...BUT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER THE
MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA IS CAUSING FLOODING IN THAT AREA.  SHOULD
THESE STORMS REMAIN INTACT AS THEY MOVE NORTH...THERE IS A
POSSIBILITY OF SOME FLOODING LATER TONIGHT.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 1000 THIS EVENING UNLESS
FLOODING IS REPORTED.

RNM
Special weather statement, Oct 10, 8:49 PM EDT, 19 minutes before
NCZ 007-009-010-011-012-013-110230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
845 PM EDT WED OCT 10 1990

 ...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TONIGHT FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS
OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...

AT 840 PM EDT LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN WAS FALLING OVER MUCH OF WESTERN
NORTH CAROLINA. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL OCCUR AS A SURGE OF TROPICAL MOISTURE
CONTINUES MOVING NORTH FROM FLORIDA THROUGH THE CAROLINAS. RAINFALL
AMOUNTS IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH IN
THE 3 TO 5 INCH RANGE WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS UP TO 7 INCHES POSSIBLE
OVERNIGHT.

RAIN TOTALS GENERALLY RANGED BETWEEN 1/2 AND 1 AND 1/2 INCHES ACROSS THE
MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS SINCE EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...THE CENTRAL
SECTIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA RECEIVED UP TO 7 INCHES THIS EVENING WHILE
THE CHARLOTTE AREA REPORTED UP TO AROUND 3 INCHES.
REMEMBER...A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT FLOODING IS POSSIBLE IN THE WATCH
AREA. PEOPLE IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS SHOULD STAY ALERT
FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE FLOOD WARNINGS. BE PREPARED TO TAKE
QUICK ACTION SHOULD FLOODING BE OBSERVED OR A FLOOD WARNING ISSUED.

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE DANGER OF FLOODING IN THE MOUNTAINS OR THE
FOOTHILLS. HEAVY RAINFALL IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WILL CAUSE WATER
LEVELS TO RISE RAPIDLY IN SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BEFORE 11 PM EDT.
CC

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in North 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.