Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

April 28, 1990Spartanburg County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 1990, 6:03 PM EDT for Spartanburg County, South Carolina. It was in force for 27 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 28, 1990, 6:03 PM EDT (22:03 UTC)
Expired
Apr 28, 1990, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Spartanburg 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

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 162 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, Athens Municipal, GA at 12:00Z on 1990-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 5 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, Athens Municipal, GA at 12:00Z on 1990-04-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 157 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
5 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-92 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
653 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
133 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGSP 282203
TORGSP
SCC083-282230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
603 PM EDT SAT APR 28 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  630 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
          ...EASTERN SPARTANBURG
 
FUNNEL CLOUD OBSERVED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OVER DUNCAN PARK WITH
ROTATION...MAY TOUCH DOWN SHORTLY.
 
 
PEOPLE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
ACTION TO PROTECT THEIR LIVES. GO TO YOUR BASEMENT...THE CENTER OF
BUILDINGS...COVER YOUR HEAD. DO NOT GO NEAR DOORS OR WINDOWS. GET
OUT OF MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES. 2GET INTO A STURDY BUILDING OR A
DITCH.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Apr 28, 4:05 PM EDT, 1 hour 58 minutes before
SCZ001>004-282100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
405 PM EDT SAT APR 28 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO OCONEE COUNTY OF SOUTH CAROLINA...
...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 900 PM FOR ALL THE UPSTATE COUNTIES OF
   SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 400 PM A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTHEASTERN GEORGIA FROM
NEAR CLAYTON TO ATHENS.  THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST 35 MILES
AN HOUR AND WILL MOVE INTO OCONEE COUNTY WITHIN A FEW MINUTES. HAIL
AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE STROMS. IF WARNINGS SHOULD
BE ISSUED FOR THESE STORMS THERE MAY BE ONLY A FEW MINUTES TO TAKE
ACTION.

PLEASE MONTOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FREQUENTLY FOR THE LATEST BULLETINS
OR WARNINGS.
MUSGROVE
Special weather statement, Apr 28, 4:22 PM EDT, 1 hour 41 minutes before
SCZ001>004-282100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
420 PM EDT SAT APR 28 1990

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 900 PM FOR ALL THE UPSTATE COUNTIES OF
   SOUTH CAROLINA...

THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEASTERN GEORGIA WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO
THE SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE WITHIN AN HOUR. SOME OF THESE STORMS
HAVE PRODUCED DAMAGE IN NORTHERN GEORGIA. A TORNADO WAS REPORTED
IN THE ATHENS GEORGIA VICINITY AROUND 4 PM.

PEOPLE IN NORTHWESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
THUNDERSTRORMS DURING THE NEXT TWO TO THREE HOURS WITH POSSIBLE
STRONG GUSTY WIND AND HAIL.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REMAIN ALERT UNTIL THE THREAT OF
SEVERE WEATHER PASSES.
MUSGROVE
Special weather statement, Apr 28, 4:31 PM EDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before
SCZ001>004-282115-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
430 PM EDT SAT APR 28 1990

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 900 PM FOR ALL THE UPSTATE COUNTIES OF
   SOUTH CAROLINA...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVING TOWARD ANDERSON COUNTY SOUTH CAROLINA HAS
PRODUCED ANOTHER POSSIBLE TORNADO IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA.  THERE HAVE BEEN
A NUMBER OF HAIL REPORTS WITH THIS STORM.  A WARNING MAY BECOME
NECESSARY FOR ANDERSON COUNTY SHORTLY.

LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

WAJ
Local storm report, Apr 28, 5:16 PM EDT, 47 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
515 PM EST SAT APR 28 1990

505 PM       SILO BLOWN DOWN 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ANDERSON AT
INTERSECTION OF SC 187 AND US 29.
512 PM       GOLFBALL HAIL WESTERN SECTIONS ANDERSON.

DAMAGE IS OCCURRING BACK EDGE OF STORM WHICH INDICATES POSSIBLE TORNADO.

JONES
Special weather statement, Apr 28, 5:25 PM EDT, 38 minutes before
NCZ007-009-010-011-012-013-282330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
525 PM EDT SAT APR 28 1990

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7PM FOR THE CENTRAL...
SOUTHERN AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA...

SHORTLY BEFORE 530 PM AN AREA OF RAINSHOWERS...MOSTLY LIGHT WAS
LOCATED ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST
AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.

PREVIOUS REPORTED THUNDERSTORMS HAD DISSIPATED. HOWEVER...A LINE OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING THROUGH UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. THE
POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER STILL EXISTS IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING.

THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTH CAROLINA WILL MOVE INTO
TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY IN THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS BEFORE 6PM EDT. HEAVY
RAINS MAY OCCUR WITH THESE STORMS AS WELL AS LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS.

IF THREATHENING WEATHER APPROACHES...SEEK SAFE SHELTER INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING. PRfEFERRABLY ON THE FIRST FLOOR.

LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
CC
Local storm report, Apr 28, 5:50 PM EDT, 13 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
515 PM EST SAT APR 28 1990

540 PM       GREENVILLE COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL
             IN THE SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF THE "CITY OF GREENVILLE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 28, 4:37 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPAnderson68 min
Apr 28, 5:20 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPGreenville55 min
Apr 28, 5:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPAbbeville, Laurens69 min
Apr 28, 5:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPSpartanburg58 min
Apr 28, 6:23 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPCherokee67 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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.