Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 192, NWS Columbia, SC

August 30, 1998Lexington County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 30, 1998, 4:42 PM EDT for Lexington County, South Carolina. It was in force for 33 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
Aug 30, 1998, 4:42 PM EDT (20:42 UTC)
Expired
Aug 30, 1998, 5:15 PM EDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Lexington County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 15 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:43 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
Aug 30, 5:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 55Swansea, SCSheriff reported one person killed when his pickup truck was hit by a falling tree. Several trees were taken down in the Swansea area.

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, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 162 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 1998-08-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2205 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 1998-08-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -10 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
2205 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-49 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1003 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
13 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.

252 
WUUS1 KCAE 302047 RRA
SVRCAE
SCC063-302115-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
442 PM EDT SUN AUG 30 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA SC HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN LEXINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT 

* AT 440 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTHWEST OF SWANSEA IN LEXINGTON 
  COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHEAST NEAR 5 MPH.

EXPECT WIND GUSTS NEAR 65 MPH AND HAIL NEAR THREE-QUARTERS 
OF AN INCH WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.

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, Aug 30, 11:20 AM EDT, 5 hours 22 minutes before
SCZ016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-036-
037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-302311-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1120 AM EDT SUN AUG 30 1998

...A HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN
SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA...

THE ADVISORY INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA:

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

THE ADVISORY INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN GEORGIA:

BURKE        COLUMBIA     LINCOLN      MCDUFFIE     RICHMOND

HOT TEMPERATURES OF 95 TO 100 DEGREES WILL COMBINE WITH THE RELATIVE
HUMIDITY TO CAUSE A HEAT INDEX OF BETWEEN 105 AND 110 DEGREES THIS
AFTERNOON.

THE HEAT INDEX IS A MEASURE OF HOW HOT IT FEELS WHEN THE EFFECTS
OF HUMIDITY ARE COMBINED WITH THE TEMPERATURE. A HEAT INDEX OF
105 DEGREES IS CONSIDERED THE LEVEL WHERE MANY PEOPLE BEGIN TO
EXPERIENCE EXTREME DISCOMFORT OR PHYSICAL STRESS. REMEMBER...
THE HEAT INDEX IS MEASURED UNDER SHADY CONDITIONS...AND DIRECT
SUNSHINE CAN INCREASE THE INDEX AS MUCH AS 15 DEGREES.

REDUCE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES...DRINK LOTS OF WATER OR OTHER NON-
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES...WEAR LIGHT COLORED/LIGHT WEIGHT CLOTHES
AND...IF POSSIBLE...SPEND MORE TIME IN AIR CONDITIONED OR WELL
VENTILATED PLACES.

RCC
Special weather statement, Aug 30, 11:20 AM EDT, 5 hours 22 minutes before
SCZ016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-036-
037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-302311-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1120 AM EDT SUN AUG 30 1998

...A HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN
SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA...

THE ADVISORY INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA:

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

THE ADVISORY INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN GEORGIA:

BURKE        COLUMBIA     LINCOLN      MCDUFFIE     RICHMOND

HOT TEMPERATURES OF 95 TO 100 DEGREES WILL COMBINE WITH THE RELATIVE
HUMIDITY TO CAUSE A HEAT INDEX OF BETWEEN 105 AND 110 DEGREES THIS
AFTERNOON.

THE HEAT INDEX IS A MEASURE OF HOW HOT IT FEELS WHEN THE EFFECTS
OF HUMIDITY ARE COMBINED WITH THE TEMPERATURE. A HEAT INDEX OF
105 DEGREES IS CONSIDERED THE LEVEL WHERE MANY PEOPLE BEGIN TO
EXPERIENCE EXTREME DISCOMFORT OR PHYSICAL STRESS. REMEMBER...
THE HEAT INDEX IS MEASURED UNDER SHADY CONDITIONS...AND DIRECT
SUNSHINE CAN INCREASE THE INDEX AS MUCH AS 15 DEGREES.

REDUCE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES...DRINK LOTS OF WATER OR OTHER NON-
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES...WEAR LIGHT COLORED/LIGHT WEIGHT CLOTHES
AND...IF POSSIBLE...SPEND MORE TIME IN AIR CONDITIONED OR WELL
VENTILATED PLACES.

RCC

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.