Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 22, NWS Wilmington, NC

April 22, 1997Georgetown County, South Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 22, 1997, 10:58 PM EDT for Georgetown County, South Carolina. It was in force for 47 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
Apr 22, 1997, 10:58 PM EDT (02:58 UTC)
Expired
Apr 22, 1997, 11:45 PM EDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Georgetown County, SC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 22, 11:40 PM EDTHail 1Plantersville, 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, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 87 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.

000 
TTAA00 KILM 230258 RRA
SVRILM
NCZ505-SCC043-230345-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
1058 PM EDT TUE APR 22 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1145 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA

   ...GEORGETOWN
 
AT 1056 PM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY WILMINGTON
DOPPLER RADAR 9 MILES NORTH OF ANDREWS MOVING EAST AT 69 MPH.

THIS STORM CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE VICINITY OF...
        OATLAND                 BY 1109 PM EDT
        PLANTERSVILLE           BY 1114 PM EDT
        YAUHANNAH               BY 1116 PM EDT
        PAWLEYS ISLAND          BY 1119 PM EDT
        BROOKGREEN              BY 1120 PM EDT
        MURRELLS INLET          BY 1122 PM EDT

A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN
PRODUCE TORNADOES.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND
DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.  STAY
INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

IRELAND

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 Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 22, 9:02 PM EDT, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 22, 9:02 PM EDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
9 PM EDT TUE APR 22 1997

RDU & CAE: CONT GOING TRND WITH SHRA/TSRA OVR CWA THRU WED AS LO PRES
AND ASSOCD CDFNT MOVS THRU THE AREA.

DISC: CRNTLY...SHRA/TSRA CONT TO MOV ENE ACRS THE AREA AS NRLY STNRY
WMFNT DRIFTS N. WMFNT WILL CONT N AS AN IMPRESSIVE LO PRES SYS AND
ITS ASSOCD FNT MOV INTO THE RGN. SYS IS MSTR LADEN AS GLF IS TAPPED.
THE LO/FNT ARE PROGGD TO MOV ACRS THE AREA WED AND OFF THE CST WED
EVE. LOOKS LIKE WED WILL BE AN ACTIVE DAY AS DYNAMICS ARE IN PLC.
MDLS AGR IN MOVG SERIES OF STG SHRT WVS THRU RGN WHICH WILL ENHANCE
THE ACTVTY. CONT CRNT FCST TRND. GOING TEMPS/POPS OK.

FOR CSTL WTRS...CONT CRNT TRND.

DTR

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 22, 10:40 PM EDT, 18 minutes before
NCZ080-095-093-047-090-079-081-092-091-029-104-098-094-503-044-
046-045-502-501-103-230215-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT NC
1035 PM EDT TUE APR 22 1997

...A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED ACROSS PARTS
OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA WEDNESDAY...

LOW PRESSURE OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS WILL STRENGTHEN RAPIDLY
OVERNIGHT.  UNSEASONABLY STRONG UPPER LEVEL ENERGY WILL ACCOMPANY THE
LOW PRESSURE AREA SETTING THE STAGE FOR SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS EASTERN
NORTH CAROLINA.

A WARM FRONT ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COASTAL COUNTIES WILL LIKELY FOCUS
THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLE ISOLATED TORNADOES
ALONG THE COAST FROM ONSLOW AND CARTERET COUNTIES NORTHEAST TO THE
SOUTHERN OUTER BANKS DURING THE MORNING HOURS.
.
BY THE EARLY AFTERNOON...THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHWARD
ALLOWING THE ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME WARM AND UNSTABLE OVER MUCH OF THE
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL COAST AND COASTAL PLAIN. A MODERATE RISK OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS ANTICIPATED MAINLY SOUTH OF LINE FROM NEW
BERN WEST TO KINSTON DURING THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS
WEDNESDAY.

ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA...A SLIGHT RISK OF
SEVERE THUNDERSjTORMS IS EXPECTED. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED
LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. PERSONS ARE URGED TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE
WEATHER THROUGH WEDNESDAY AND BE PREPARED TO INVOKE EMERGENCY ACTION
PROCEDURES IN THE EVENT OF SEVERE WEATHER.

DB

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 22, 9:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMFlorence61 min
Apr 22, 10:22 PM EDTTornado WarningILMFlorence33 min
Apr 22, 10:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMWilliamsburg63 min
Apr 22, 10:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMHorry, Marion64 min
Apr 22, 10:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMFlorence33 min
Apr 22, 11:13 PM EDTTornado WarningILMHorry, Marion32 min
Apr 23, 2:14 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMFlorence46 min
Apr 23, 2:40 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMMarion35 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.