Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 103, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

August 21, 1990Burke County, McDowell County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 21, 1990, 2:28 PM EDT for Burke County, McDowell County, North Carolina. It was in force for 62 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 21, 1990, 2:28 PM EDT (18:28 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 1990, 3:30 PM EDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Burke County, NC, McDowell County, NC

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 21, 3:00 PM EDTHail 0.75Mcdowell, NC
Aug 21, 3:23 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Burke, NC

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 183 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 1990-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 211 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 1990-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 118 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
211 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
550 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
118 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
153 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 21, 8:44 AM EDT, 5 hours 44 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 21, 12:07 PM EDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before
SCZ001>004-211800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1205 PM EDT TUE AUG 21 1990

...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE IN THE
UPSTATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

THE AIRMASS OVER THE UPSTATE IS VERY MOIST...QUITE UNSTABLE...AND THERE
APPEARS TO BE SUFFICIENT FOCUS FOR SIGNIFICANT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT
THIS AFTERNOON.  A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME
SEVERE...MEANING THEY WOULD PRODUCE HAIL THE SIZE OF DIMES OR
LARGER...AND/OR WINDS OF ABOUT 60 MPH OR HIGHER.

IN ADDITION...THE WIND FIELDS IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER ATMOSPHERE ARE
VERY WEAK MEANING THAT THUNDERSTORMS COULD DUMP LARGE AMOUNTS OF RAIN
VERY QUICKLY OVER SMALL AREAS.  LOCAL FLOODING PROBLEMS COULD
RESULT...ESPECIALLY IN URBAN AREAS AND AREAS WITH POOR DRAINAGE.

THE FEW STORMS WHICH DEVELOPED YESTERDAY AFTERNOON CONTAINED QUITE A BIT
OF CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...WHICH CAUSES A NUMBER OF
 INJURIES AND
DEATHS EACH YEAR.

PEOPLE IN THE UPSTATE SHOULD HEED THE VARIOUS THUNDERSTORM SAFETY RULES
TODAY AS STORMS DEVELOP OR APPROACH...AND LISTEN FOR LATER INFORMATION
AS DEVELOPMENT OCCURS.

JONES
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 12:55 PM EDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
NCZ008-007-211900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
1255 PM EDT TUE AUG 21 1990

...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY OVER THE SOUTHERN
PIEDMONT AND NORTHERN FOOTHILLS OF NORTH CAROLINA...

A COLD FRONT STALLED OVER THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT TODAY WILL BE THE
FOCUS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGHOUT THE REGION THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WARM AND QUITE UNSTABLE AIR ALONG THE FRONT
MAY CAUSE SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS TO BE SEVERE.

ANY STORMS THAT FORM THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE MOVING SLOWLY SO
LOCALIZED FLOODING IS POSSIBLE ON ROADS AND IN LOW LYING AREAS AND
ALSO NEAR STREAMS. BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS
AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER ON HIGHER GROUND IF NECESSARY.

REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE 3/4 INCH HAIL OR LARGER AND
MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY WINDS OF 58 MPH OR GREATER.

MONITOR TV...RADIO...OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS
OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 245PM
IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.

STEWART
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 2:07 PM EDT, 21 minutes before
NCZ009-010-011-012-212000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
200 PM EDT TUE  AUG 21 1990

...VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...

AT 145 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING IN SECTIONS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.  THE HEAVIEST STORMS
WERE LOCATED NEAR MARSHALL AND SPRUCE PINE.  THESE STORMS ARE MOVING
TOWARD THE EAST AT ABOUT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

OTHER STORMS ARE DEVELOPING AND MAY INTENSIFY REACHING SEVERE LIMITS
LATER THIS AFTERNOON PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN...STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS..
HAIL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE READY TO
REACT IF A STXORM APPROACHES OR IF A WARNING IS ISSUED.

STAY TUNED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADIO FOR THE LATEST
STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS...FOR YOU WILL HEAR IT FIRST ON
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADIO.

SLUDER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 1:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMecklenburg38 min
Aug 21, 2:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPStanly35 min
Aug 21, 2:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCherokee56 min
Aug 21, 2:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCatawba, Lincoln34 min
Aug 21, 3:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPBuncombe, Henderson55 min
Aug 21, 3:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCleveland40 min
Aug 21, 4:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPPolk60 min
Aug 21, 4:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMacon, Swain65 min
Aug 21, 4:14 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPBuncombe, Henderson3 hr
Aug 21, 4:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPBuncombe, Henderson61 min
Aug 21, 4:29 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPBurke, Polk, Rutherford3 hr
Aug 21, 4:29 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPHaywood, Transylvania3 hr
Aug 21, 4:29 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPCherokee3 hr
Aug 21, 5:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGaston66 min
Aug 21, 4:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPUnion41 min
Aug 21, 5:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCherokee44 min
Aug 21, 5:44 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPLaurens3 hr

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.