Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 31, 1993Greenville County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Mar 31, 1993, 6:40 PM EST for Greenville County, South Carolina. It was in force for 65 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Mar 31, 1993, 6:40 PM EST (23:40 UTC)
Expired: Mar 31, 1993, 7:45 PM EST
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Greenville County, SC

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 33 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 570 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 99 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 33 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 312342
TORGSP
SCC045-010045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
640 PM EST WED MAR 31 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...CENTRAL GREENVILLE COUNTY
 
SPOTTERS CONTINUE TO REPORT A FUNNEL CLOUD MOVING ACROSS PICKENS
COUNTY. THESE REPORTS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED. NUMEROUS REPORTS OF LARGE
HAIL UP TO GOLF BALL SIZE HAVE BEEN RECEIVED. PEOPLE IN AND AROUND
THE CITY OF GREENVILLE SHOULD TAKE SHELTER FROM THIS STORM. MOVEMENT
WAS EAST AT 40 MPH.
 
 
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. GET 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

Local storm report, Mar 31, 5:11 PM EST, 1 hour 29 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NORTH CAROLINA
 510 PM EST WED MAR 31      1993

 DATE/TIME    EVENT
445 PM EST    CHEROKEE COUNTY EOC REPORTS HAIL UP TO GOLF-BALL
              SIZE IN SOUTHERN CHEROKEE COUNTY. HAIL MARBLE TO
              NICKLE SIZE COVERED THE GROUND WEST OF MURPHY TO A
              REPORTED DEPTH OF 1 TO 2 INCHES.

RCJ

Special weather statement, Mar 31, 5:13 PM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

NCZ007-008-014-312300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
515 PM EST WED MAR 31 1993

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MECKLENBURG... CLEVELAND... CATAWBA...
LINCOLN... GASTON... IREDELL... ROWAN... CABBARRUS... STANLY...
ANSON... UNION... RICHMOND... AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES OF NORTH
CAROLINA UNTIL MIDNIGHT THIS EVENING...

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CHEROKEE...YORK... AND LANCASTER
COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA UNTIL MIDNIGHT THIS EVENING...

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CATAWBA COUNTY THIS EVENING...

AT 510 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS OVER THE
FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT REGIONS OF NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA.  HEAVIER
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN MOUNTAINS OF NORTH
CAROLINA AND ALSO CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA.  MOVEMENT OF THE
PRECIPITATION WAS TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

THE ATMOSPHERE IS EXTREMELY UNSTABLE AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
TO DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE EVENING OVER WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND
NORTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA.

TORNADOES... LARGE HAIL... DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

YOU SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND BE READY TO
TAKE COVER.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO... OR LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO FOR
UPDATES OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 600 PM.

GK

Special weather statement, Mar 31, 5:54 PM EST, 46 minutes before

NCZ007-008-014-010000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
555 PM EST WED MAR 31 1993

...TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MECKLENBURG... CLEVELAND...
CATAWBA... LINCOLN... GASTON... IREDELL... ROWAN... CABARRUS...
STANLY... ANSON... UNION... RICHMOND... AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES OF
NORTH CAROLINA UNTIL MIDNIGHT THIS EVENING...

...TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CHEROKEE...YORK... AND
LANCASTER COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA UNTIL MIDNIGHT THIS EVENING...

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CATAWBA COUNTY THIS EVENING...

AT 550 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS CONTINUING
OVER THE NORTHERN FOOTHILLS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND PIEDMONT REGIONS OF
NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA.  A LINE OF HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING
THROUGH THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND MOUNTAINS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA.  MOVEMENT OF THE PRECIPITATION WAS TOWARD THE
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

THE ATMOSPHERE IS EXTREMELY UNSTABLE AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
TO DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE EVENING OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH
CAROLINA AND NORTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA.

TORNADOES... LARGE HAIL... DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE TORNADO WATCH AREAS.

YOU SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND BE READY TO
TAKE COVER.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO... OR LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO FOR
UPDATES OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 700 PM.

GK

Local storm report, Mar 31, 6:05 PM EST, 35 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NORTH CAROLINA
605 PM EST WED MAR 31 1993

DATE/TIME    EVENT
550 PM EST   GRAHAM COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTED HAIL FROM
             DIME TO PENNY S2IZE IN SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE COUNTY.

RCJ

Local storm report, Mar 31, 6:06 PM EST, 34 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
605 PM EST WED MAR 31 1993

541 PM    LONG CREEK OCONEE COUNTY...MARBLE TO QUARTER HAIL...DEPUTY.
558 PM    WALHALLA OCONEE ..GOLFBALL HAIL...DEPUTY.

WAJ

Local storm report, Mar 31, 6:27 PM EST, 13 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
626 PM EST WED MAR 31 1993

623 PM    FUNNEL CLOUD AND GOLFBALL HAIL SIX MILE AREA MOVING TOWARD
          PICKENS.  2 OBSERVATIONS OF FUNNEL BY DEPUTY AND PILOT.

WAJ

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 31, 5:16 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Oconee	59 min
Mar 31, 5:52 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Pickens	68 min
Mar 31, 6:09 PM EST	Tornado Warning	GSP	Pickens	66 min

Nearby

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