Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Columbia, SC

May 29, 1996Kershaw County, Lee County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at May 29, 1996, 7:26 PM EDT for Kershaw County, Lee County, South Carolina. It was in force for 49 min. 4 reports 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: May 29, 1996, 7:26 PM EDT (23:26 UTC)
Expired: May 29, 1996, 8:15 PM EDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC
Area: Whole counties

Counties Kershaw County, SC, Lee County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:26 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
May 29, 7:44 PM EDT	Tornado F0	Cassatt, SC
May 29, 7:46 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Camden, SC
May 29, 7:52 PM EDT	Hail 1	Bishopville, SC
May 29, 7:54 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Bishopville, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 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.

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: 72 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -227 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 831 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 32 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCAE 292328
TORCAE
SCC055-061-300015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
726 PM EDT WED MAY 29 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...NORTHERN LEE COUNTY
   ...EASTERN KERSHAW COUNTY
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO
APPROACHING NORTHWEST LEE COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT
ARUOND 30 MPH. THIS STORM WILL MOVE TO NEAR LUCKNOW BY 730 PM AND TO
BISHOPVILLE BY 800 PM.
 
DO NOT STAY IN A CAR OR MOBILE HOME DURING A TORNADO.  CARS AND
MOBILE HOMES ARE EASILY TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE
CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR OR MOBILE HOME AND
GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER
IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.  BE ALERT FOR FLOODING OF LOW AREAS.
 
MPD/LCV

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, May 29, 6:19 PM EDT, 1 hour 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
619 PM EDT WED MAY 29 1996

TIME (EDT) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....
611 PM     5 SW LANCASTER            SC   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/29/96   LANCASTER                      GOLFBALL HAIL 5 MILES
                                          SOUTHWEST OF LANCASTER
                                          REPORTED BY LANCASTER
      d                                    SHERIFF.

RCC

Local storm report, May 29, 6:59 PM EDT, 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
659 PM EDT WED MAY 29 1996

TIME (EDT) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....
649 PM     BETHUNE                   SC   .75 INCH HAIL
05/29/96   KERSHAW                        DIME SIZE HAIL AT BETHUNE
                                          FROM KERSHAW SHERIFF.

RCC

Local storm report, May 29, 7:19 PM EDT, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
719 PM EDT WED MAY 29 1996

TIME (EDT) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....
712 PM     WESTVILLE                 SC   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/29/96   KERSHAW                        KERSHAW POLICE REPORT

AWP

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 29, 5:55 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	CAE	Lancaster	45 min
May 29, 6:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Kershaw	67 min
May 29, 7:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Lancaster	38 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1996 Every tornado warning in 1996 Tornadoes in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.