Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 17, NWS Columbia, SC

April 21, 1997Barnwell County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 21, 1997, 8:26 PM EDT for Barnwell County, South Carolina. It was in force for 39 min. 1 report 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
Apr 21, 1997, 8:26 PM EDT (00:26 UTC)
Expired
Apr 21, 1997, 9:05 PM EDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Barnwell County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:27 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 21, 8:35 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50Barnwell, 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 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 140 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 1997-04-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 315 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 1997-04-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 87 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
315 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1429 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCAE 220024 RRA
SVRCAE
SCC011-220115-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
826 PM EDT MON APR 21 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  905 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...BARNWELL COUNTY
 
AT 825 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST
SOUTHWEST OF SNELLING. THE STORM WAS MOVING NE AT 30 MPH AND WILL MOVE
THROUGH SNELLING AROUND 830 PM AND BLACKVILLE AROUND 9 PM. DIME TO
NICKEL SIZE HAIL WILL ACCOMPANY THIS STORM.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
THESE WINDS BLOW DOWN TREES...POWER LINES...AND SEVERELY DAMAGE
MOBILE HOMES.  FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR.  DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
 
AMATEUR RADIO AND >OTHER SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO MONITOR THIS
STORM AND RELAY REPORTS PROMPTLY TO THE NEAREST NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
 
SJN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 22, 4:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEFairfield43 min
Apr 22, 5:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEChesterfield, Kershaw, Lancaster57 min
Apr 22, 6:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEAiken38 min
Apr 22, 7:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEMcCormick14 min
Apr 22, 7:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEEdgefield39 min
Apr 22, 7:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAESaluda68 min
Apr 22, 7:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAELexington62 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.