Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Columbia, SC

April 22, 1997Clarendon County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at Apr 22, 1997, 9:47 PM EDT for Clarendon County, South Carolina. It was in force for 28 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
Apr 22, 1997, 9:47 PM EDT (01:47 UTC)
Expired
Apr 22, 1997, 10:15 PM EDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Clarendon County, SC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 22, 10:05 PM EDTHail 1Turbeville, SC
Apr 22, 10:10 PM EDTTornado F1Turbeville, SC
Apr 22, 10:20 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 60Alcohu, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 22, 9:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 88 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 1997-04-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 885 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 1997-04-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 42 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
885 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
100 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

362 
WFUS1 KCAE 230146 RRA
TORCAE
SCC027-230215-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
947 PM EDT TUE APR 22 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...NORTHERN CLARENDON COUNTY
 
AT 942 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO
NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF I-95 AND ROUTE 527 IN NORTHERN CLARENDON
COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 35 MPH. THE TURBEVILLE AREA IS IN THE
PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
 
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SEEK SHELTER NOW
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW
GROUND IF AVAILABLE.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY
FURNITURE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER
YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES.
 
 
JL/SN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 22, 8:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAECalhoun24 min
Apr 22, 8:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAERichland68 min
Apr 22, 8:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEFairfield49 min
Apr 22, 8:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAESumter52 min
Apr 22, 8:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEAiken64 min
Apr 22, 9:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAELexington44 min
Apr 22, 9:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEBarnwell35 min
Apr 22, 9:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEBamberg, Orangeburg62 min
Apr 22, 9:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAECalhoun, Richland62 min
Apr 22, 10:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAESumter51 min
Apr 22, 10:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEClarendon63 min
Apr 23, 1:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEBamberg, Orangeburg30 min
Apr 23, 1:33 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAECalhoun27 min
Apr 23, 1:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEClarendon, Sumter45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.