Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 52, NWS Columbia, SC
NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 31, 1997, 6:23 PM EDT for Lexington County, Richland County, South Carolina. It was in force for 37 min. 3 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 31, 1997, 6:23 PM EDT (22:23 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 1997, 7:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Columbia, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Lexington County, SC, Richland County, SC
The radar
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 3 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:27 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 6:44 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Irmo, SC | |
| May 31, 6:45 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Irmo, SC | |
| May 31, 6:50 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Ballentine, 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, 10.4 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 578 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 541 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 66 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 55 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
853 WUUS1 KCAE 312221 RRA SVRCAE SCC063-079-312300- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 623 PM EDT SAT MAY 31 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTH CAROLINA ...NORTHERN LEXINGTON COUNTY...NORTHERN RICHLAND COUNTY AT 620 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH OF THE TOWN OF IRMO. THE THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE NORTH THROUGH THE TOWN OF IRMO INTO NORTHWEST RICHLAND COUNTY AROUND 630 PM. 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. DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. HG
The office that day
Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 6:32 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CAE | Lexington, Richland | 28 min |
| May 31, 7:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Lexington | 41 min |
| May 31, 7:58 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | CAE | Lexington | 3 hr |
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.