Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 25, NWS Charleston, SC

May 9, 1997Colleton County, South Carolina

NWS Charleston, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 9, 1997, 5:50 PM EDT for Colleton County, South Carolina. It was in force for 55 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 9, 1997, 5:50 PM EDT (21:50 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 1997, 6:45 PM EDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS Charleston, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Colleton County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 42 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:54 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 9, 6:30 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55	Walterboro, SC	Trees down across Highway 63.
May 9, 6:45 PM EDT	Hail 1	Ruffin, SC	Hail reports ranging from nickel size to quarter size obseved.
May 9, 6:55 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Jacksonboro, SC	Trees down.

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, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 61 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 54 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -154 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1047 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 127 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 184 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.

049 
WUUS1 KCHS 092153
SVRCHS
SCC029-092245-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
550 PM EDT FRI MAY 9 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN  SOUTH CAROLINA

   ...COLLETON COUNTY


CHARLESTON RADAR IS TRACKING A POTENTIALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN
HAMPTON COUNTY MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST AROUND 40 MPH. THIS STORM WILL MOVE
INTO NORTHERN COLLETON COUNTY BY 6 PM AND MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...
DAMAGING WINDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. THIS STORM WILL AFFECT THE TOWNS
OF WILLIAMS...AHSTON AND RUFFIN BY 630 PM...AND MAY AFFECT WALTERBORO AN
COTTAGEVILLE BY 7 PM.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

TJR

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.

NWS Charleston, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 9, 2:17 PM EDT, 3 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 2:17 PM EDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
210 PM EDT FRI MAY 9 1997

LATEST ANAL HAS FRONT IN WRN GA WITH ASSOCIATED STORMS MOVG TO THE E.
ALL MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT IN MOVG THE FRONT TO RIGHT ALONG THE CST
AROUND 00Z. EXPECT SCT ACTIVITY THIS AFTN AND ERLY EVE WITH GOOD SW/W
WINDS BEING MAINTAINED. CNTRL PART OF SC SUSPECT WITH LIMITED CLDS AND
MAY BE PRIME AREA BY LATE AFTN FOR STRONG TSTM...BUT TIME WILL TELL.
AREA OF STORMS MAINTAINING SIZE AND INTENSITY AS IT MAKES STEADY EWRD
PROG...SCT POPS IS THE BEST BET FOR S CSTL RGN THRU THIS EVE WITH
DRIER...COOLER...AND CLEAR CONDITIONS STARTING SAT WITH HI PRES SETTLING
IN FROM THE W. EVEN WITH STRONG WIND FIELD...THINK THEAT OF SVR MENTION
WITH ANY AFTN/EVE TSTMS CAN BE LEFT OUT UNLESS YOU FEEL STRONGLY OTRW.
WINDS WILL STAY IN THE 20 KT RANGE FOR GOOD WHILE AFTR FROPA AND
BELIEVE THE BEST COURSE FOR CWF IS TO MAINTAIN SCA AT LEAST THRU 1ST
HALF OF SAT...MAY WANT TO GIVE RANGE OF LWR SEAS NR SHORE BUT UP TO SCA
IN THE 20 MILE RANGE. GIVEN TEMPS LEAN TOWARD WARMER DAYTIME FWC
NUMBERS.

   CCF
CHS ARPT   56/74/50/76   3000
CHS CITY   59/74/54/76
SAV ARPT   56/76/52/77   3000

   CWF
.TONIGHT...W WIND 25 KT SHIFTING NW. SEAS 5-6 FT. SCT ERLY AM TSTMS.
.SAT...NW WIND 25 KT...SUBSIDING TO 20 KT IN THE AFTN. SEAS FROM 4 FT
NEAR SHORE UP TO 6 FT OUTER EDGE OF CSTL WATERS.
.SAT NIGHT...NW WIND 15 KT SHIFTING N 10 KT. SEAS 3-4 FT.
.SUN...VAR WIND 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 FT.

MJR

.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 5:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CHS	Hampton	50 min
May 9, 6:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CHS	Charleston	58 min
May 9, 6:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CHS	Colleton, Hampton	68 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 1997 Every 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.