Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Columbia, SC
NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 3, 1997, 7:38 PM EDT for Aiken County, Barnwell County, South Carolina. It was in force for 52 min. 2 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
- Jul 3, 1997, 7:38 PM EDT (23:38 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 3, 1997, 8:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 52 min
- Issued by
- NWS Columbia, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Aiken County, SC, Barnwell County, SC
The radar
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:40 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 7:50 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Windsor, SC | |
| Jul 3, 8:10 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Williston, 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, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 154 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
- 1083 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -73 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 858 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 44 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 119 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 1.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCAE 032340 RRA SVRCAE SCC003-011-040045- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 738 PM EDT THU JUL 3 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTH CAROLINA ...EASTERN AIKEN COUNTY...NORTHERN BARNWELL COUNTY NWS DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR WHITE POND MOVING SOUTHEAST AROUND 10 MPH. THIS STORM WILL MOVE NEAR WILLISTON IN NORTHERN BARNWELL COUNTY BY 815 PM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH. INTENSE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN CAUSE AS MUCH DAMAGE AS SOME TORNADOES.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Jul 3, 3:45 PM EDT, 3 hours 53 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031- 035-036-037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-040300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...HEAT ADVISORY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 345 PM EDT THU JUL 3 1997 A HEAT ADVISORY CONTINUES FOR FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA: AIKEN BAMBERG BARNWELL CALHOUN CHESTERFIELD CLARENDON EDGEFIELD FAIRFIELD KERSHAW LANCASTER LEE LEXINGTON MCCORMICK NEWBERRY ORANGEBURG RICHLAND SALUDA SUMTER AND THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN GEORGIA: BURKE COLUMBIA LINCOLN MCDUFFIE RICHMOND TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO REACH MAXIMUMS SIMILAR TO THOSE REACHED THURSDAY. WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO BE IN THE UPPER 90S COMBINED WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S....THE HEAT INDEX WILL CLIMB TO AT LEAST 105 BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON ON FRIDAY. REMEMBER THAT THE HEAT INDEX IS A MEASURE OF HOW HOT IT FEELS WHEN THE EFFECTS OF HUMIDITY ARE COMBINED WITH THE TEMPERATURE. A HEAT INDEX OF 105 DEGREES IS CONSIDERED THE LEVEL WHERE MANY PEOPLE BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE EXTREME DISCOMFORT OR PHYSICAL STRESS. WITH MANY PEOPLE PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY...EXTRA CAUTION NEEDS TO BE TAKEN TO PREVENT HEAT EXHAUSTION. REDUCE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE...DRINK LOTS OF WATER...WEAR LIGHT COLORED AS WELL AS LIGHT-WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING AND...IF POSSIBLE...SPEND MORE TIME IN AIR CONDITIONED OR WELL VENTILATED PLACES. REMEMBER THAT THE ELDERLY...CHILDREN AND THE INFIRM ARE MOST VULNERABLE...BUT THE HEAT CAN OVERTAKE ANYONE. PETS TOO. HG
Special weather statement, Jul 3, 3:47 PM EDT, 3 hours 51 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031- 035-036-037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-040300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...HEAT ADVISORY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 345 PM EDT THU JUL 3 1997 A HEAT ADVISORY CONTINUES FOR FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA: AIKEN BAMBERG BARNWELL CALHOUN CHESTERFIELD CLARENDON EDGEFIELD FAIRFIELD KERSHAW LANCASTER LEE LEXINGTON MCCORMICK NEWBERRY ORANGEBURG RICHLAND SALUDA SUMTER AND THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN GEORGIA: BURKE COLUMBIA LINCOLN MCDUFFIE RICHMOND TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO REACH MAXIMUMS SIMILAR TO THOSE REACHED THURSDAY. WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO BE IN THE UPPER 90S COMBINED WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S....THE HEAT INDEX WILL CLIMB TO AT LEAST 105 BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON ON FRIDAY. REMEMBER THAT THE HEAT INDEX IS A MEASURE OF HOW HOT IT FEELS WHEN THE EFFECTS OF HUMIDITY ARE COMBINED WITH THE TEMPERATURE. A HEAT INDEX OF 105 DEGREES IS CONSIDERED THE LEVEL WHERE MANY PEOPLE BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE EXTREME DISCOMFORT OR PHYSICAL STRESS. WITH MANY PEOPLE PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY...EXTRA CAUTION NEEDS TO BE TAKEN TO PREVENT HEAT EXHAUSTION. REDUCE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE...DRINK LOTS OF WATER...WEAR LIGHT COLORED AS WELL AS LIGHT-WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING AND...IF POSSIBLE...SPEND MORE TIME IN AIR CONDITIONED OR WELL VENTILATED PLACES. REMEMBER THAT THE ELDERLY...CHILDREN AND THE INFIRM ARE MOST VULNERABLE...BUT THE HEAT CAN OVERTAKE ANYONE. PETS TOO. HG
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.