Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 101, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

August 20, 1990Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 20, 1990, 5:15 PM EDT for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. It was in force for 30 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 20, 1990, 5:15 PM EDT (21:15 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 1990, 5:45 PM EDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County 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, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 125 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 1990-08-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 695 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 12:00Z on 1990-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
695 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-72 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1325 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

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, Aug 20, 2:25 PM EDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before
NCZ007-009-010-011-012-013-202030-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
225 PM EDT MON AUG 20 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS ON THE INCREASE ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS...

AT 220 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SHOWER AND
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ON THE INCREASE ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN
NORTH CAROLINA. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED FROM WATAUGA COUNTY
IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS DOWN THROUGH THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
MOUNTAINS TO CHEROKEE COUNTY OF THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS.
MOVEMENT WAS SLOWLY TOWARD THE SOUTH.

SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE HEAVY DOWNPOURS..DANGEROUS CLOUD TO
GROUND LIGHTNING AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. THE STORMS ARE MOVING SLOWLY
SO THE HEAVY RAINS MAY CAUSE MINOR URBAN STREET FLOODING AS WELL AS
FLOODING OF POORLY DRAINED LOW LYING AREAS.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA SEEK SAFE SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY. STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO OR
TELEVISION FOR FUTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNING ON THIS
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY.
COLE
Special weather statement, Aug 20, 2:30 PM EDT, 2 hours 45 minutes before
NCZ008-201930-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
230 PM EDT MON AUG 20 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER NORTH CAROLINAS SOUTHERN PIEDMONT..

AT 230 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADARS SHOWED SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS OVER ANSON COUNTY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAD RAPIDLY
DEVELOPED DURING THE PAST HOUR AND WERE INTENSIFYING. THE STORMS WERE
SHOWING LITTLE TO NO MOVEMENT.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS .. HEAVY
DOWNPOURS ... DEADLY LIGHTNING ... AND POSSIBLY SMALL HAIL.

EVERYONE IN ANSON COUNTY SHOULD BE ALERT TO THESE STORMS AND BE
PREPARED TO SEEK ADEQUATE SHELTER SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER
APPROACH.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AT 330 PM EDT UNLESS CONDITIONS
WORSEN.

MATT
Special weather statement, Aug 20, 3:00 PM EDT, 2 hours 15 minutes before
NCZ008-202000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
300 PM EDT MON AUG 20 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS INTENSIFYING OVER NORTH CAROLINAS SOUTHERN
PIEDMONT...

AT 300 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADARS SHOWED STRENGTHENING
THUNDERSTORMS BECOMING MORE NUMEROUS IN NUMBERS ACROSS NORTH
CAROLINAS SOUTHERN PIEDMONT.  THE HEAVIEST OF THESE STORMS WERE
LOCATED OVER THE COUNTIES OF MECKLENBURG ... CLEVELAND ... GASTON ...
AND ANSON. THESE STORMS HAD SHOWN LITTLE MOVEMENT DURING THE PAST
HOUR.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS .. HEAVY
DOWNPOURS ... DEADLY LIGHTNING ... AND HAIL. ADDITIONALLY... THE SLOW
MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING OF STREETS
AND LOW LYING AREAS THAT ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLOODING DUE TO POOR
DRAINAGE.

EVERYONE IN THESE COUNTIES SHOULD BE ALERT TO THESE STORMS AND BE
PREPARED TO SEEK ADEQUATE SHELTER SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER
APPROACH.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AT 400 PM EDT UNLESS CONDITIONS
WORSEN.

MATT
Special weather statement, Aug 20, 3:55 PM EDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before
NCZ008-202055-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
355 PM EDT MON AUG 20 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER NORTH CAROLINAS SOUTHERN PIEDMONT ...

AT 355 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADARS SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS
OVER NORTH CAROLINAS SOUTHERN PIEDMONT.  THE HEAVIEST OF THESE STORMS
WERE LOCATED OVER THE COUNTIES OF CLEVELAND ... GASTON ... UNION ...
AND MECKLENBURG COUNTIES. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING VERY SLOWLY
TOWARDS THE SOUTH AT ABOUT 5 MPH.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS .. HEAVY
DOWNPOURS ... DEADLY LIGHTNING ... AND HAIL.

EVERYONE IN THESE COUNTIES SHOULD BE ALERT TO THESE STORMS AND BE
PREPARED TO SEEK ADEQUATE SHELTER SHOULD YTHREATENING WEATHER
APPROACH.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AT 455 PM EDT UNLESS CONDITIONS
WORSEN.

MATT
Special weather statement, Aug 20, 4:55 PM EDT, 20 minutes before
NCZ008-202155-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
455 PM EDT MON AUG 20 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER NORTH CAROLINAS SOUTHERN PIEDMONT ...

AT 455 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADARS SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS
OVER NORTH CAROLINAS SOUTHERN PIEDMONT.  THE HEAVIEST OF THESE STORMS
WERE LOCATED OVER THE COUNTIES OF GASTON AND MECKLENBURG. THESE
STORMS WERE MOVING VERY SLOWLY TOWARDS THE SOUTH AT ABOUT 5 MPH.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS .. HEAVY
DOWNPOURS ... DEADLY LIGHTNING ... AND HAIL.

EVERYONE IN THESE COUNTIES SHOULD BE ALERT TO THESE STORMS AND BE
PREPARED TO SEEK ADEQUATE SHELTER SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER
APPROACH.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AT 555 PM EDT UNLESS CONDITIONS
WORSEN.

MATT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 4:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMecklenburg67 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 1990Every severe thunderstorm 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.