Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 94, NWS Columbia, SC

July 23, 1997Saluda County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 23, 1997, 5:09 PM EDT for Saluda County, South Carolina. It was in force for 51 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
Jul 23, 1997, 5:09 PM EDT (21:09 UTC)
Expired
Jul 23, 1997, 6:00 PM EDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Saluda County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:09 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
Jul 23, 5:30 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50Saluda, SCElectric Company reports powerlines down, blown transormers, and power outages.

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, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 202 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1265 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 42 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1265 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
838 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
42 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.

160 
WUUS1 KCAE 232111 RRA
SVRCAE
SCC081-232200-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
509 PM EDT WED JUL 23 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...WESTERN SALUDA COUNTY
 
AT 509PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEATHER RADAR DETECTED SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO WESTERN SALUDA COUNTY. THESE STORMS HAVE
THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
 
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.
 
AWP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 23, 7:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAERichland56 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.