Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 27, 1994Cherokee County, Spartanburg County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Mar 27, 1994, 5:08 PM EST for Cherokee County, Spartanburg County, South Carolina. It was in force for 67 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
Mar 27, 1994, 5:08 PM EST (22:08 UTC)
Expired
Mar 27, 1994, 6:15 PM EST
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cherokee County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 27, 5:30 PM ESTTornado F1Lyman To Blackburg, SC

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

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 179 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 1994-03-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 9 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 1994-03-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 530 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
9 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-138 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
528 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
530 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
654 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGSP 272208
TORGSP
SCC021-083-272315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
508 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...NORTHERN CHEROKEE COUNTY...NORTHERN SPARTANBURG COUNTY
 
A POSSIBLE LARGE TORNADO WILL MOVE FROM GREENVILLE OVER OR NEAR THE GSP
AIRPORT TO AFFECT MUCH OF THE NORTHERN HALF OF SPARTANBURG COUNTY. A
TORNADO WHICH TOUCHED DOWN NORTHWEST OF CHESNEE AT 455 PM MAY CLIP THE
NORTHWEST PART OF CHEROKEE COUNTY. THE MAIN STORM COULD MOVE INTO
CHEROKEE COUNTY LATER.
 
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 ZBUILDING OR A
DITCH.
 
W. JONES/GSP
 
 
&

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 27, 3:26 PM EST, 1 hour 42 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
325 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

TORNADO 319 PM LONG CREEK TORNADO ON GROUND 2 INJURED 2 HOMES
DESTROYED.

W. JONES/GSP
Local storm report, Mar 27, 3:40 PM EST, 1 hour 28 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
340 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

330 PM OCONEE COUNTY REPORTS TORNADO DAMAGE WIDEPREAD ACROSS NORTHERN
PART OF COUNTY WITH MULTIPLE INJURIES...ST|ORM HAD LIFTED AND HEADED
TOWARD SALEM AT LAST REPORT.

W. JONES/GSP
Special weather statement, Mar 27, 3:59 PM EST, 1 hour 9 minutes before
NCZ056-068>074-082>084-272200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
400 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES UNTIL 9 PM
THIS EVENING.  CLEVELAND... LINCOLN... GASTON... IREDELL...
MECKLENBURG... ROWAN... CABARRUS... UNION... STANLY... ANSON...
MONTGOMERY... AND RICHMOND IN NORTH CAROLINA...

...A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN
SOUTH CAROLINA ALSO UNTIL 9 PM.  CHEROKEE... YORK... CHESTER.... AND
LANCASTER.

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR CLEVELAND... CATAWBA...
LINCOLN... AND GASTON COUNTIES THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

AT 350 PM WEATHER RADAR WAS SHOWING A WIDESPREAD AREA OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS OF NORTH AND SOUTH
CAROLINA.  THE AREA WAS MOVING INTO EXTREME WESTERN PORTIONS OF
CATAWBA AND CLEVELAND COUNTIES.  TORNADO PRODUCING STORMS WERE MOVING
THROUGH EXTREME NORTHWESTERN COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA.  STORMS WERE
MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT AROUND 40 MPH.

REMEMBER A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE
WATCH AREA.  TORNADOES HAVE TOUCHED DOWN THROUGHOUT NORTHERN GEORGIA
AND NORTHWESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA.  IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES
PLEASE TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

CONTINUE TO MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO
FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION AND FOR ANY WARNINGS THAT MAY BE
ISSUED.  THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 5 PM.

GK
Local storm report, Mar 27, 4:01 PM EST, 1 hour 7 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
400 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

355 PM OCONEE COUNTY MOUNTAIN REST TORNADO DAMAGE. SECOND STORM.

W. JONES/GSP
Local storm report, Mar 27, 4:19 PM EST, 49 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
418 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

415 PM GOLF BALL HAIL CLEVELAND GREENVILLE COUNTY.

W. JONES/GSP
Special weather statement, Mar 27, 4:58 PM EST, 10 minutes before
NCZ056-068>074-082>084-272300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
500 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES UNTIL 9 PM
THIS EVENING.  CLEVELAND... LINCOLN... GASTON... IREDELL...
MECKLENBURG... ROWAN... CABARRUS... UNION... STANLY... ANSON...
MONTGOMERY... AND RICHMOND IN NORTH CAROLINA...

...A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN
SOUTH CAROLINA ALSO UNTIL 9 PM.  CHEROKEE... YORK... CHESTER.... AND
LANCASTER.

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR CLEVELAND... CATAWBA...
LINCOLN... AND GASTON COUNTIES THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

AT 450 PM WEATHER RADAR WAS SHOWING A WIDESPREAD AREA OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS OF NORTH AND SOUTH
CAROLINA.  THE AREA NOW COVERED ALL OF IREDELL... CATAWBA...
LINCOLN... AND CLEVELAND COUNTIES.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH HAVE
PRODUCED TORNADOES IN NORTHWESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA WERE MOVING INTO
RUTHERFORD COUNTY AND CONTINUED TO MOVE THROUGH MUCH OF NORTHWESTERN
SOUTH CAROLINA.  MOVEMENT WAS TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION.  REMEMBER A TORNADO
WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
TORNADOES HAVE TOUCHED DOWN THROUGHOUT NORTHERN GEORGIA AND
NORTHWESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA.  IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES
PLEASE TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.  MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR SMALLEST
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

CONTINUE TO MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO
FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION AND FOR ANY WARNINGS THAT MAY BE
ISSUED.  THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 6 PM.

GK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 27, 3:01 PM ESTTornado WarningGSPOconee44 min
Mar 27, 3:28 PM ESTTornado WarningGSPPickens47 min
Mar 27, 3:50 PM ESTTornado WarningGSPOconee55 min
Mar 27, 4:04 PM ESTTornado WarningGSPGreenville41 min
Mar 27, 4:18 PM ESTTornado WarningGSPPickens42 min
Mar 27, 4:33 PM ESTTornado WarningGSPSpartanburg27 min
Mar 27, 4:46 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenville59 min
Mar 27, 4:58 PM ESTTornado WarningGSPGreenville, Pickens62 min
Mar 27, 5:36 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPOconee54 min
Mar 27, 5:52 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPPickens53 min
Mar 27, 6:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenville46 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.