Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990
Flash Flood Warning 36, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Oct 12, 1990, 12:27 PM EDT for Gaston County, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 12, 1990, 12:27 PM EDT (16:27 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 12, 1990, 4:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Gaston County, NC, Mecklenburg 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, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 135 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
- 92 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 590 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 86 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 209 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KCLT 121613
FFWCLT
NCC071-119-122015-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
1213 PM EDT FRI OCT 12 1990
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLOTTE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 415 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN WEST NORTH CAROLINA
...GASTON
IN SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
...MECKLENBURG
HEAVY RAIN HAS ALREADY OCCURRED THROUGHOUT MOST OF GASTON COUNTY. VERY
HEAVY RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS HAS ALSO FALLEN THROUGHOUT
THE WESTERN ONE FOURTH OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY. THE REMAINDER OF
MECKLENBURG COUNTY WILL EXPERIENCE HEAVY RAIN PRIOR TO 1 PM . WITH THE
GOUND ALREADY SATURDATED AND SMALL STREAMS AND DRAINAGE DITCHES CLOSE
TO BEING FULL FLOODING PROBLEMS IS LIKELY THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE
AFTERNOON IN GASTON AND MECKLENBURG COUNTIES.
FLOODING OF LOW SPOTS IN THE BESSEMER CITY COMMUNITY OF GASTON COUNTY
HAS CAUSED SOME ROADS TO BE CLOSED IN THAT AREA. SIMILAR PROBLEMS ARE
SUSPECTED TO BE OCCURRING OR WILL DEVELOP THROUGHOUT GASTON COUNTY
EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.
RAINFALL OF OVER ONE INCH IS LIKELY THROUGHOUT MOST OF MECKLENBURG
COUNTY BETWEEN NOON AND 1 PM. THIS RAIN... ON TOP OF THE EARLIER
RAINFALL AND SATURATED GROUND MEANS FLOODING IS IMMINENT THROUGHOUT
MUCH OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL IS LIKELY THROUGHOUT THE AREA LATER THIS
AFTERNOON.
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS 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. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP 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, Oct 12, 9:27 AM EDT, 3 hours before
SCZ001>004-121400-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
925 AM EDT FRI OCT 12 1990
...RAIN AND STORMS SLIPPING NORTHEAST...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TODAY THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE...
...FLASH FLOOD WARNING CANCELLED FOR GREENWOOD COUNTY...
AT 925 THIS MORNING A BAND OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTOMS WAS PRODUCING
HEAVY RAIN OVER THE SOUTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT AND EASTERN FOOTHILLS.
THE SHOWERS NEAR GREENWOOD HAVE WEAKENED AND THE FLOOD PROBLEMS THERE
ARE EXPECTED TO SLOWLY SUBSIDE.
THE BACK EDGE OF THE PRECIPITATION WAS INCIDTAED BY RADAR FROM
TABLE ROCK TO EASLEY TO GREENWOOD. ALONG THIS LINE THE WINDS HAVE
BECOME STRONG AND GUSTY AS THE RAIN TAPERED OFF. A BRIEF GUST OF
46 MILES AN HOUR WAS REPORTED AT THE ANDERSON AIRPORT AND STRONG
WINDS OCCURRED NEAR EASLEY DURING THE PAST HOUR.
.
THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRON GUSTY WINDS AND jLOCALLY HEAVY RAIN
CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG THE I-85 CORRIDOR DURING THE NEXT TWO
HOURS FROM GREENVILLE TO BLACKSBURG.
MUSGROVESpecial weather statement, Oct 12, 9:41 AM EDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before
NCZ 007-009-010-011-012-013-121530- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC 940 AM EDT FRI OCT 12 1990 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... STEADY RAIN CONTINUES TO FALL OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS THIS FRIDAY MORNING. HEAVIER RAIN CONTINUES TO STREAM NORTH FROM GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA INTO THE FOOTHILLS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE WATCH AREA. THE LINVILLE RIVER AREA IN AVERY COUNTY LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE THE FIRST FLOOD PRONE AREA ALONG WITH THE TOE RIVER IN THE MOUNTAINS TODAY. PEOPLE IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA ARE URGED TO STAY ALERT FOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE FLOOD WARNINGS. BE PREPARED TO SEEK HIGHER GROUND IF YOU ARE NEAR ANY STREAMS...CREEKS...RIVERS OR LOW LYING AREAS. SOME 24 HOUR RAINFALL TOTALS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... BOONE.... 1.47 INCHES GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN-... 1.90 " ASHEVILLE AIRPORT 2.50 " HENDERSONVILLE 2.00 " MT. MITCHELL 3.00 " AVERY COUNTY (TOE RIVER) 2.49 " CARPENTER
Special weather statement, Oct 12, 10:21 AM EDT, 2 hours 6 minutes before
NCZ007-008-121500- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC 1015 AM EDT FRI OCT 12 1990 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY BECOMING CONCENTRATED OVER A PORTION OF THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA AND ADJACENT SOUTH CAROLINA... AT 1010 THIS MORNING WEATHER RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER LINCOLN COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTH ACROSS WESTERN YORK COUNTY AND EASTERN CHEROKEE COUNTIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA. ...THESE COUNTIES ARE ALL WEST OF THE CATAWBA RIVER AND GENERALLY WEST OF I-77 THROUGH CHARLOTTE... TWO AREAS OF QUITE HEAVY RAIN WERE NOTED... THE FIRST WAS OVER EXTREME NORTHEASTERN GASTON COUNTY AND MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARD EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY AND THE CENTRAL AND UPPER PORTIONS OF LAKE NORMAN. THE SECOND AREA OF VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS OVER SOUTHWESTERN GASTON COUNTY AND APPROACHING GASTONIA. THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN YORK AND CHEROKEE COUNTIES WAS INCREASING IN INTENSITY AS IT MOVED TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 40 MILES AN HOUR. GASTON AND LINCOLN COUNTIES WILL LIKELY HAVE HEAVY RAIN FROM THESE SOUTH CAROLINA STORMS THROUGH THE NOON HOUR TODAY. AS THUNDERSTORMS MOVE THROUGH LINCOLN AND GASTON COUNTIES RAINFALL WILL BE QUITE HEAVY FOR SHORT INTERVALS. THE GROUND IS WELL SATURATED AND RUNOFF WILL BE RAPID. PROBLEMS OF HIGH WATER WILL BE COMPOUNDED BY THE FACT THAT SEVERAL THUNDERSTORMS WILL PASS THROUGH ANY GIVEN AREA. EVERYONE IN LINCOLN AND GASTON uCOUNTIES AND ALONG THE CENTRAL AND UPPER PORTIONS OF LAKE NORMAN MUST BE ALERT FOR RAPID INCREASES IN WATER LEVELS... DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS THROUGH NOON TODAY. RK
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 10:02 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Avery | 4 hr |
| Oct 12, 1:00 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Watauga | 3 hr |
| Oct 12, 2:23 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Avery | 4 hr |
| Oct 12, 2:23 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Watauga | 97 min |
| Oct 12, 3:17 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Ashe | 4 hr |
| Oct 12, 3:34 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Burke | 4 hr |
| Oct 12, 3:58 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Watauga | 3 hr |
| Oct 12, 4:55 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Polk, Rutherford | 2 hr |
| Oct 12, 5:55 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Cleveland | 2 hr |
| Oct 12, 6:37 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Gaston | 2 hr |
| Oct 12, 7:03 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Avery, Burke, Caldwell, McDowell | 3 hr |
| Oct 12, 7:08 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Polk, Rutherford | 2 hr |
| Oct 12, 7:25 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Watauga | 3 hr |
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.