Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1994
Tornado Warning 17, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Mar 27, 1994, 7:05 PM EST for Cherokee County, Graham County, North Carolina. It was in force for 25 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 27, 1994, 7:05 PM EST (00:05 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 27, 1994, 7:30 PM EST
- In force
- 25 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Cherokee County, NC, Graham County, NC
The nearest sounding before it
Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 155 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 344 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -36 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1558 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 67 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 326 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 504 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 6.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KAVL 280005 TORAVL NCC039-075-280030- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC 705 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ASHEVILLE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 730 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN WEST NORTH CAROLINA ...CHEROKEE COUNTY...GRAHAM COUNTY ...THREE FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED NEAR MURPHY IN CHEROKEE COUNTY THESE STORMS WILL BE RAPIDLY MOVING EAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. PEOPLE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO PROTECT THEIR LIVES. GO TO A 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. GGW &
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, Mar 27, 4:58 PM EST, 2 hours 7 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
Local storm report, Mar 27, 5:18 PM EST, 1 hour 47 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
515 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994
TIME EVENT
500 PM EST TREES BLOWN DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF CHESNEE AND
COUNTY LINE ROADS NEAR SANDY SPRINGS IN SOUTHEASTERN
POLK COUNTY. REPORTED BY COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE.
TIME ESTIMATED.
EJCLocal storm report, Mar 27, 5:31 PM EST, 1 hour 34 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
530 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994
TIME EVENT
525 PM EST QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF
RUTHERFORD COUNVTY. TREES AND POWER LINES BLOWN DOWN
IN THE SAME AREA. REPORTED BY SKYWARN SPOTTER.
EJCLocal storm report, Mar 27, 5:59 PM EST, 1 hour 6 minutes before
STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC 557 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994 OTHER REPORTS... 438 PM QUARTER HAIL HIGHWAY 11 AND 14 NORTHERN GREENVILLE COUNTY. 415 PM DIME HAIL 5 N OF PICKENS. 445 PM POSSIBLE TORNADO OAK GROVE AREA NORTHERN GREENVILLE COUNTY NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES. 455 PM TORNADO MAYBE TWO ARROWOOD CHURCH AREA NORTHERN SPARTANBURG COUNTY. 510 PM DIME HAIL SUGAR CREEK 3 WEST GSP. 517 PM 1 INCH HAIL GREER 519 PM DIME TO NICKEL HAIL 2 N GREER 515 PM TORNADO HIGHWAY 221 AREA NORTHWEST CHEROKEE COUNTY. ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN A BIT EARLIER NEAR CHESNEE 535 PM VEHICLES BLOWN OFF ROAD EXIT 70 HIGHWAY I-26. 545 PM 3 FOOT OAK AND OTHER DAMAGE COWPENS AREA SPARTANBURG COUNTY. 505 PM SEVERAL REPORTS WIND DAMAGE IN AND AROUND CITY OF GREENVILLE. W. JONES/GSP
Local storm report, Mar 27, 6:45 PM EST, 20 minutes before
STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC 557 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994 OTHER REPORTS... 555 PM PROBABLE TORNADO GAFFNEY TO BLACKSBURG...NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN...SOME hLARGE TREES...ONE PERSON TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL WHEN TREE FELL ON CAR. MANY SIGHTINGS OF FUNNEL AND ROTATION LOW TO GROUND. W. JONES/GSP
Local storm report, Mar 27, 6:52 PM EST, 13 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
650 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994
645 PM MECKLENBURG COUNTY POLICE REPORTED A TORNADO
TOUCHDOWN IN CENTRAL PORTION OF CHARLOTTE. HEAVY
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOMES.
JSThe office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 7:10 PM EST | Tornado Warning | GSP | Catawba | 50 min |
| Mar 27, 7:18 PM EST | Tornado Warning | GSP | Cleveland | 57 min |
| Mar 27, 7:24 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Macon, Swain | 51 min |
| Mar 27, 8:43 PM EST | Tornado Warning | GSP | Macon | 47 min |
| Mar 27, 8:58 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Buncombe, Madison | 47 min |
| Mar 27, 9:01 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Avery, Mitchell | 44 min |
| Mar 27, 9:16 PM EST | Tornado Warning | GSP | Jackson | 44 min |
| Mar 27, 9:35 PM EST | Tornado Warning | GSP | Transylvania | 40 min |
| Mar 28, 1:45 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Cherokee, Clay, Macon | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 1:45 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Buncombe, Haywood, Madison, Yancey | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 1:45 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Avery, Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Mitchell, Watauga | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 1:45 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Ashe | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 1:45 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Henderson, Transylvania | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 1:45 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Graham, Jackson, Swain | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 3:27 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Caldwell | 33 min |
| Mar 28, 5:00 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Avery, Burke, Caldwell | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 5:00 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Buncombe, Henderson, McDowell, Madison, Yancey | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 5:00 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Mitchell | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 5:00 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 5:00 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Ashe, Watauga | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 5:00 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Haywood, Jackson, Swain, Transylvania | 3 hr |
| Mar 28, 6:58 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cabarrus, Mecklenburg | 47 min |
| Mar 28, 7:26 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Union | 49 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.