Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 27, 1994Transylvania County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Mar 27, 1994, 9:35 PM EST for Transylvania County, North Carolina. It was in force for 40 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Mar 27, 1994, 9:35 PM EST (02:35 UTC)
Expired: Mar 27, 1994, 10:15 PM EST
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Transylvania County, NC

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 147 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 KAVL 280236
TORAVL
NCC175-280315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASHEVILLE NC
935 PM EST SUN MAR 27 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ASHEVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST NORTH CAROLINA
 
   ...TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY
 
WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHERN JACKSON
COUNTY MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST...TOWARD WESTERN TRANSYLVANIA
COUNTY...AT ABOUT 45 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE AFFECTING THE LAKE TOXAWAY
AREA BY 940 PM. LARGE HAIL WAS PRODUCED BY THIS STORM IN THE PAST 30
MINUTES.
 
TORNADOES IN THE SOUTH ARE HARD TO SEE BECAUSE OF RAIN...LOW
CLOUDS...AND TREES. TAKE COVER NOW...DO NOT TRY TO WAIT ON THE
STORM AND DO NOT TRY TO OUTRUN IT.
 
EJC

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 50 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 43 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, 2 hours 1 minute 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 33 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, 33 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, 22 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, 7:05 PM EST	Tornado Warning	GSP	Cherokee, Graham	25 min
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 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, 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.