Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Columbia, SC

August 16, 1994Fairfield County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 1994, 2:17 PM EDT for Fairfield County, South Carolina. It was in force for 43 min. 1 report 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 16, 1994, 2:17 PM EDT (18:17 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1994, 3:00 PM EDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Fairfield County, SC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 16, 2:43 PM EDTTornado F0Strother To, SCTornado touched down in a rural area taking out trees.

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

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 196 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1994-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 537 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1994-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 131 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
537 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
957 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
131 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
172 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 KCAE 161818
TORCAE
SCC039-161900-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
217 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  300 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...WESTERN FAIRFIELD COUNTY
 
AT 215 PM EDT...WSR-88D RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN WESTERN
FAIRFIELD COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS NORTH-NORTHWEST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.
 
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW
GROUND IF AVAILABLE.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY
FURNITURE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER
YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES.
 
R. JONES

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 11:53 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEOrangeburg37 min
Aug 16, 12:23 PM EDTTornado WarningCAEOrangeburg37 min
Aug 16, 12:32 PM EDTTornado WarningCAELexington28 min
Aug 16, 12:55 PM EDTTornado WarningCAELexington, Orangeburg50 min
Aug 16, 1:37 PM EDTTornado WarningCAERichland38 min
Aug 16, 1:50 PM EDTTornado WarningCAELexington25 min
Aug 16, 2:09 PM EDTTornado WarningCAENewberry, Richland36 min
Aug 16, 2:13 PM EDTTornado WarningCAELexington47 min
Aug 16, 2:54 PM EDTTornado WarningCAENewberry51 min
Aug 16, 3:00 PM EDTTornado WarningCAEKershaw45 min
Aug 16, 3:11 PM EDTTornado WarningCAELexington49 min
Aug 16, 3:24 PM EDTTornado WarningCAEChester51 min
Aug 16, 3:44 PM EDTTornado WarningCAENewberry46 min
Aug 16, 4:13 PM EDTTornado WarningCAEFairfield47 min
Aug 16, 4:17 PM EDTTornado WarningCAEYork43 min
Aug 16, 5:40 PM EDTTornado WarningCAEFairfield50 min
Aug 16, 5:51 PM EDTTornado WarningCAEYork54 min
Aug 16, 6:11 PM EDTTornado WarningCAELexington34 min
Aug 16, 6:49 PM EDTTornado WarningCAEChester26 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994

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.