Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

October 5, 1995Laurens County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Oct 5, 1995, 3:33 AM EDT for Laurens County, South Carolina. It was in force for 42 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 5, 1995, 3:33 AM EDT (07:33 UTC)
Expired
Oct 5, 1995, 4:15 AM EDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Laurens County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:33 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 256 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 00:00Z on 1995-10-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2000 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 1995-10-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 115 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2000 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
577 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
115 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
6.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGSP 050735
TORGSP
SCC059-050815-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
333 AM EDT THU OCT 5 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  415 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...LAURENS COUNTY
 
AT 335 AM DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE
TORNADO SOUTHWEST OF LAURENS MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.
 
 
TORNADOES WHICH OCCUR AFTER DARK ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS. GET TO A
PLACE OF SAFETY NOW!! STAY AWAY FROM DOORS AND WINDOWS...BUT GET OUT
OF MOBILE HOMES AND CARS. IF DAMAGE OCCURS NEAR YOU...DO NOT ATTEMPT
TO WALK AROUND ^IN THE DARK. THERE MAY BE DOWNED POWER LINES.

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, Oct 5, 12:00 AM EDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before
NCZ056-068>071-082-051900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
1200 AM EDT THU OCT 05 1995

....FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY...
....HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR CLEVELAND COUNTY N.C.

FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA

ANSON           CABARRUS        CLEVELAND
IREDELL         LINCOLN         MECKLENBURG
ROWAN           STANLY          UNION
GASTON          ALEXANDER       CATAWBA

AT 1145 AM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATES SHOWERS EXTENDING
FROM JUST EAST OF HICKORY IN CATAWBA COUNTY SOUTH THROUGH LINCOLNTON
IN LINCOLN COUNTY TO WEST OF KINGS MOUNTAIN IN CLEVELAND COUNTY INTO
CHESTER  IN CHESTER COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

THESE SHOWERS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

REMEMBER..
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS FLOOD THREAT AND PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD
TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. IF YOU
LIVE..WORK ..OR TRAVEL IN OR NEAR FLOOD PRONE AREAS..BE PREPARED TO
TAKE EMERGENCY ACTIONS FOR FLOODING.

LISTEN TO LOCAL RADIO...TV OR WEATHER RADIO FOR WEATHER UPDATES AND
POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

JB
Special weather statement, Oct 5, 3:05 AM EDT, 28 minutes before
NCZ058-68>71-050830-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
0305 AM EDT THU OCT 05 1995

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAINSHOWERS SOUTHERN PIEDMONT...

AT 0300 AM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
OVER CENTRAL GASTON COUNTY JUST SOUTH OF THE CITY OF GASTONIA. THERE
WERE ALSO MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINSHOWERS OVER
MECKLENBERG...CLEVELAND...LINCOLN AND CATAWBA COUNTIES. THESE STORMS
WERE MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.

BECAUSE OF THE SATURATED GROUND...FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AND
ROADWAYS IS HIGHLY LIKELY.

RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO BE ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND
BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION. THESE THUNDERSTORMS  MAY PRODUCE SMALL
HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND STRONG WINDS.

MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO... LOCAL TELEVISION OR RADIO
FOR LATER UPDATES ON THIS WEATHER SITUATION. BE READY TO TAKE QUICK
ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR LOCATION.

JN
Special weather statement, Oct 5, 3:06 AM EDT, 27 minutes before
NCZ058-68>71-050830-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLOTTE NC
0305 AM EDT THU OCT 05 1995

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAINSHOWERS SOUTHERN PIEDMONT...

AT 0300 AM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
OVER CENTRAL GASTON COUNTY JUST SOUTH OF THE CITY OF GASTONIA. THERE
WERE ALSO MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINSHOWERS OVER
MECKLENBERG...CLEVELAND...LINCOLN AND CATAWBA COUNTIES. THESE STORMS
WERE MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.

BECAUSE OF THE SATURATED GROUND...FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AND
ROADWAYS IS HIGHLY LIKELY.

RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO BE ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND
BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION. THESE THUNDERSTORMS  MAY PRODUCE SMALL
HVAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND STRONG WINDS.

MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO... LOCAL TELEVISION OR RADIO
FOR LATER UPDATES ON THIS WEATHER SITUATION. BE READY TO TAKE QUICK
ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR LOCATION.

JN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 5, 12:11 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPOconee4 hr
Oct 5, 12:11 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPPickens4 hr
Oct 5, 3:55 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPSpartanburg50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.