Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 10, NWS Columbia, SC

February 28, 1998Richland County, Sumter County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 28, 1998, 5:47 AM EST for Richland County, Sumter County, South Carolina. It was in force for 43 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 28, 1998, 5:47 AM EST (10:47 UTC)
Expired
Feb 28, 1998, 6:30 AM EST
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Richland County, SC, Sumter County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 44 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:50 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 133 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 1998-02-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 167 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 1998-02-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 38 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
167 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-180 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
654 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

085 
WUUS1 KCAE 281048 RRA
SVRCAE
SCC079-085-281130-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
547 AM EST SAT FEB 28 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  630 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
 
   ...SOUTHERN RICHLAND COUNTY...SUMTER COUNTY
 
AT 544 AM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR GADSDEN IN
SOUTHERN RICHLAND COUNTY. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH AND
WILL REACH DOWNTOWN SUMTER BY 610 AM.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
THESE WINDS BLOW DOWN TREES...POWER LINES...AND SEVERELY DAMAGE
MOBILE HOMES.  FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR.  DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
 
LM

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, Feb 28, 5:34 AM EST, 13 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-
036-037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-281700-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
534 AM EST SAT FEB 28 1998

THE OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA:

AIKEN        BAMBERG      BARNWELL     CALHOUN      CHESTERFIELD
CLARENDON    EDGEFIELD    FAIRFIELD    KERSHAW      LANCASTER
LEE          LEXINGTON    MCCORMICK    NEWBERRY     ORANGEBURG
RICHLAND     SALUDA       SUMTER

THE OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN GEORGIA:

BURKE        COLUMBIA     LINCOLN      MCDUFFIE     RICHMOND

A FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA THIS MORNING WILL HOLD
WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR OVER THE AREA. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO
MOVE EAST THIS AFTERNOON. AS A RESULT...CLUSTERS OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL
CROSS THE AREA DURING THE MORNING THEN SHIFT EAST OF THE AREA FOR THE
AFTERNOON.

THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL...GUSTY WINDS AND
HEAVY RAIN. MOST STORMS WILL OCCUR EAST OF A LINE THROUGH
AUGUSTA...BATESBURG...WINNSBORO AND GREAT FALLS AND LANCASTER.

ALL INTERESTS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
WEATHER AND KEEP POSTED ON WEATHER STATEMENTS...WATCHES...
OR WARNINGS WHICH MAY BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
BE PREPARED TO TAKE QUICK ACTION IF THREATENING WEATHER IS
SIGHTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OFFICIALS ARE REQUESTED TO REMAIN ALERT AND
MAKE PRELIMINARY PLANS TO DEAL WITH SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD IT OCCUR.
SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS...INCLUDING AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS...
SHOULD MONITOR THIS WEATHER SITUATION AND RELAY REPORTS PROMPTLY
TO THE NEAREST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

LM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 28, 5:04 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEAiken, Orangeburg26 min
Feb 28, 5:20 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAECalhoun, Lexington25 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.