Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

April 15, 1993Laurens County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1993, 4:37 PM EDT for Laurens County, South Carolina. It was in force for 53 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 15, 1993, 4:37 PM EDT (20:37 UTC)
Expired
Apr 15, 1993, 5:30 PM EDT
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Laurens County, SC

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 133 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 1993-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 102 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 1993-04-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 194 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
102 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-253 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
903 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
241 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 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 15, 3:00 PM EDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
SCZ001-002-004-152000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
3 PM EDT THU APR 15 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE LAKES...
AT 3 PM A BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING ACROSS
LAKES JOCASEE...KEOWEE...AND HARTWELL...AND EXTENDED SOUTH
INTO EAST GEORGIA TO ABOUT THE WASHINGTON AREA.  THE SHOWERS
AND STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST 20 TO 25 MILES AN HOUR...
BUT HAVE WEAKENED SOMEWHAT DURING THE LAST TWO HOURS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE UPSTATE AREAS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA DURING THE NEXT TWO TO THREE HOURS...WITH
BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...LIGHTNING...AND STRONG GUSTY WIND.
MUSGROVE
Special weather statement, Apr 15, 3:01 PM EDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before
SCZ001-002-004-152000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
3 PM EDT THU APR 15 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE LAKES...
AT 3 PM A BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING ACROSS
LAKES JOCASEE...KEOWEE...AND HARTWELL...AND EXTENDED SOUTH
INTO EAST GEORGIA TO ABOUT THE WASHINGTON AREA.  THE SHOWERS
AND STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST 20 TO 25 MILES AN HOUR...
BUT HAVE WEAKENED SOMEWHAT DLURING THE LAST TWO HOURS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE UPSTATE AREAS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA DURING THE NEXT TWO TO THREE HOURS...WITH
BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...LIGHTNING...AND STRONG GUSTY WIND.
MUSGROVE
Special weather statement, Apr 15, 3:38 PM EDT, 59 minutes before
NCZ009-010-011-012-152245-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
338 PM EDT THU APR 15 1993

...DAMAGING WINDS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

AT MID AFTERNOON STRONG GUSTY WINDS WERE REPORTED IN THE MOUNTAINS OF
NORTH CAROLINA.  EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS IN HAYWOOD COUNTY
REPORTED SEVERAL TREES DOWNED OR UPROOTED FROM THESE WINDS.

THE STRONG WINDS ARE IN ADVANCE OF A COLD FRONT THAT WAS LOCATED IN
WESTERN TENNESSEE AT 200PM.  IN ADDITION TO THE STRONG SURFACE WINDS
STRONG WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS MAY ENHANCE THE DAMAGE.

PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED TO SECURE LOOSE OBJECTS THAT MAY BE BLOWN ABOUT
BY STRONG WINDS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO AND TV FOR LATER
INFORMATION.
HM
Special weather statement, Apr 15, 3:39 PM EDT, 58 minutes before
NCZ009-010-011-012-152245-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
338 PM EDT THU APR 15 1993

...DAMAGING WINDS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

AT MID AFTERNOON STRONG GUSTY WINDS WERE REPORTED IN THE MOUNTAINS OF
NORTH CAROLINA.  EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS IN HAYWOOD COUNTY
REPORTED SEVERAL TREES DOWNED OR UPROOTED FROM THESE WINDS.

THE STRONG WINDS ARE IN ADVANCE OF A COLD FRONT THAT WAS LOCATED IN
WESTERN TENNESSEE AT 200PM.  IN ADDITION TO THE STRONG SURFACE WINDS
STRONG WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS MAY ENHANCE THE DAMAGE.

PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED TO SECURE LOOSE OBJECTS THAT MAY BE BLOWN ABOUT>
BY STRONG WINDS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO AND TV FOR LATER
INFORMATION.
HM
Special weather statement, Apr 15, 4:11 PM EDT, 26 minutes before
SCZ001-002-004-152100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
410 EDT THU APR 15 1993

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM MOVING THROUGH GREENWOOD COUNTY...
AT 4 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH OF
GREENWOOD MOVING RAPIDLY NORTH TOWARD THE CITY OF GREENWOOD.  THIS STORM
WAS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING AND IT IS POSSIBLE WARNINGS MAY SOON BE ISSUED
FOR THIS STORM.  STRONG WINDS AND SOME HAIL ARE VERY LIKELY WITH THIS
STORM.

LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

W. JONES/GSP
Special weather statement, Apr 15, 4:11 PM EDT, 26 minutes before
SCZ001-002-004-152100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
410 EDT THU APR 15 1993

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM MOVING THROUGH GREENWOOD COUNTY...
AT 4 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH OF
GREENWOOD MOVING RAPIDLY NORTH TOWARD THE CITY OF GREENWOOD.  THIS STORM
WAS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING AND IT IS POSSIBLE WARNINGS MAY SOON BE ISSUED
FOR THIS STORM.  STRONG WINDS AND SOME HAIL ARE VERY LIKELY WITH THIS
STORM.

LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

W. JONES/GSP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 15, 6:25 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPCleveland, Gaston, Lincoln50 min
Apr 15, 4:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenwood54 min
Apr 15, 4:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPLaurens44 min
Apr 15, 5:09 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPUnion51 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1993Every tornado warning in 1993Tornadoes in 1993

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.