Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 27, 1994Oconee County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Mar 27, 1994, 9:18 PM EST for Oconee County, South Carolina. It was in force for 31 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Mar 27, 1994, 9:18 PM EST (02:18 UTC)
Expired: Mar 27, 1994, 9:49 PM EST
In force: 31 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Oconee County, SC

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 92 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: 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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGSP 280219
TORGSP
SCC073-280300-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
918 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...NORTHERN OCONEE COUNTY
 
THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM HAS SPLIT WITH THE SOUTHERN PART MOVING TOWARD
THE LONG CREEK AREA OF OCONEE COUNTY. LARGE HAIL WAS BEING REPORTED IN
CLAYTON GEORGIA AND RADAR SHOWS THE STORM INCREASING IN STRENGTH. A
TORNADO IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM AS IT MOVES OUT OF THE GEORGIA
MOUNTAINS INTO OCONEE COUNTY. THE STORM COULD FOLLOW A SIMILAR TRACK TO
THE EARLIER STORM TODAY.
 
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.
 
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, 6:45 PM EST, 2 hours 33 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, 2 hours 26 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.

JS

Local storm report, Mar 27, 7:34 PM EST, 1 hour 44 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
732 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

TIME            EVENT

712 PM EST      DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN TULULA IN SOUTHEASTERN
                GRAHAM COUNTY.  REPO>RTED BY SKYWARN SPOTTER.

EJC

Special weather statement, Mar 27, 8:02 PM EST, 1 hour 16 minutes before

SCZ001-002-003-004-005-006-007-008-010-011-012-013-019-260230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
800 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR ALL UPSTATE COUNTIES UNTIL 200AM...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA UNTIL 400AM...

THE TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT SUNDAY AFTERNOON HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL
200AM MONDAY MORNING FOR ALL COUNTIES IN THE UPSTATE. AN AREA OF SHOWERS
AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN GEORGIA THIS
EVENING AND ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AROUND 50 MPH. THESE STORMS ARE CAUSING
DAMAGE THROUGH NORTHERN GEORGIA AND SHOULD BE MOVING INTO THE UPSTATE
SOMETIME AROUND 900 PM.

THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH A POTENTIAL FOR LARGE TORNADOES.
THE SEVERE WEATHER AND FLASH FLOOD THREAT WILL CONTINUE INTO THE
NIGHT. UPSTATE RESIDENTS SHOULD KEEP CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WEATHER AND
BE PREPARED TO TAKE NECESSARY ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOjR YOUR
AREA.

LEFKOF/GSP

Local storm report, Mar 27, 9:02 PM EST, 16 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
900 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

ATTN SELS...

517 PM      CLEVELAND COUNTY OFFICIALS REPORTED A TORNADO
            NEAR BOILING SPRINGS IN WESTERN CLEVELAND COUNTY
            NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN REPORTED
            BY COUNTY OFFICIALS AT 815 PM WITH ABOUT ONE
            THIRD OF COUNTY WITHOUT POWER.

815 PM      CLEVELAND COUNTY OFFICIALS REPORTED SEVERAL
            TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS THROUGHOUT COUNTY BETWEEN
            500 PM AND 700 PM WITH WIDESPREAD TREE AND
            POWER LINE DAMAGE.
600 PM      SEVERAL TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN NORTHWESTERN
            GASTON COUNTY NEAR CHERRYVILLE AREA REPORTED BY
            GASTON COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS.  TREES AND LINES
            DOWN ACROSS TRYON-COURTHOUSE ROAD... SELLERSTOWN
            ROAD AND MILES ROAD.

650 PM      TREES AND POWER LINES DOWNED ACROSS UNION ROAD
            IN SOUTHERN GASTON COUNTY TO THE SOUTH OF GASTONIA.
            REPORTED BY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

650 PM      6 TO 8 TRAILERS DAMAGED OR DESTROYED IN TRAILER PARK
            ON DUNCAN ROAD IN SOUTHERN GASTON COUNTY NEAR THE
            SOUTH CAROLINA BORDER.  REPORTED BY COUNTY EMERGENCY
            MANAGEMENT.

702 PM      ROOF BLOWN OFF STOWE BOTANICAL GARDENS ON SOUTH NEW
            HOPE ROAD IN GASTON COUNTY NEAR THE SOUTH CAROLINA
            BORDER.

703 PM      1 HOUSE COMPLETELY DESTROYED ON SOUTH POINTE ROAD
            IN GASTON COUNTY.  REPORTED BY COUNTY EMERGENCY
            MANAGEMENT.
600  PM      LINCOLN COUNTY MANAGEMENT REPORTED A LADY DIED
             FROM ELECTROCUTION FROM A DOWNED POWER LINE NEAR
             HER HOME NEAR BOGER CITY.

625 PM      1/2 INCH HAIL IN GASTONIA IN GASTON COUNTY REPORTED
            BY SPOTTER.

621 PM       CONFIRMED TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN HUNTERSVILLE IN
            NORTHERN MECKLENBURG COUNTY REPORTED BY COUNTY
            EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

645 PM      2 TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS AROUND 645 PM IN THE CITY OF
            CHARLOTTE.  BUILDING COLLAPSED ON GARRISON ROAD
            AND HIGHWAY 160.  TOUCHDOWN IN NOBLES ROAD AREA NEAR
            WEST BLVD IN THE BOULEVARD HOMES A PUBLIC HOUSING
            AREA.  1 HOME UNSAFE FOR OCCUPANCY AND 10 OTHERS
            DAMAGED.  3 REPORTED INJURIES AND NO FATALITIES.
            NUMEROUS PEOPLE HOMELESS.  REPORTED BY MECKLENBURG
            COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
GK

Local storm report, Mar 27, 9:13 PM EST, 5 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
911 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994

TIME            EVENT

910 PM EST      QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN HIGHLANDS IN SOUTHEASTERN
                MACON COUNTY.  REPORTED BY SKYWARN SPOTTER.

EJC

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 27, 10:45 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Oconee	60 min

Nearby

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