Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 27, NWS Columbia, SC

April 3, 1998Barnwell County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1998, 11:45 PM EST for Barnwell County, South Carolina. It was in force for 45 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 3, 1998, 11:45 PM EST (04:45 UTC)
Expired: Apr 4, 1998, 12:30 AM EST
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Barnwell County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:44 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
Apr 3, 11:55 PM EST	Hail 1	Williston, SC	Sheriff reports one inch hail.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 3, 10:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 140 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 868 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 86 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 137 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.

583 
WUUS1 KCAE 040442 RRA
SVRCAE
SCC011-040530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1145 PM EST FRI APR 3 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA SC HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  BARNWELL COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1230 AM EST

* NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE 
  THUNDERSTORM 1 MILE SOUTH OF WILLISTON, MOVING EAST AT 45 
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BLACKVILLE AT 1200 AM

CTC/MWC

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

Local storm report, Apr 3, 10:22 PM EST, 1 hour 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1022 PM EST FRI APR 03 1998

TIME (EST) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....

945 PM     JUST NORTH OF EDGEFIELD   SC   TORNADO
04/03/98   EDGEFIELD                      TORNADO ON GROUND..NO
                                          DAMAGE

TTH

Local storm report, Apr 3, 10:43 PM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1043 PM EST FRI APR 03 1998

TIME (EST) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....

1030 PM    OAK GROVE-5NW CAE         SC   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   LEXINGTON

1035 PM    COLUMBIA                  SC   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   RICHLAND                       ROSEWOOD DRIVE IN COLUMBIA

1030 PM    CAYCE                     SC   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   LEXINGTON

1030 PM    SOUTH CONGAREE-5SW CAE    SC   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   LEXINGTON

1043 PM    THOMSON-HARLEM            GA   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   MCDUFFIE

1047 PM    HERTFORD FARM RD-EVANS RD SC   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   AIKEN                          IN SOUTHERN AIKEN COUNTY

1047 PM    MARTINEZ-EVANS AREA       GA   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   COLUMBIA

1040 PM    NORTHEAST RICHLAND CO     SC   .88 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   RICHLAND                       13 NE CAE

1050 PM    GA HWY 232-I20            GA   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   COLUMBIA                       HAIL COVERING GROUND

TTH

Local storm report, Apr 3, 11:25 PM EST, 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1125 PM EST FRI APR 03 1998

TIME (EST) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....

1010 PM    W AUGUSTA-E THOMSON       GA   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   MCDUFFIE                       GRAVEL SIZED HAIL

945 PM     TOWN OF EDGEFIELD         SC   TORNADO
04/03/98   EDGEFIELD                      SC HIGHWAY PATROL REPORTED
                                          TORNADO ON GROUND JUST
                                          NORTH OF TOWN  OF
                                          EDGEFIELD

1035 PM    GILBERT-15W CAE           SC   TORNADO
04/03/98   LEXINGTON                      MID CAROLINA COOP REPORTED
                                          TORNADO ON GROUND NEAR
                                          GILBERT MOVING TOWARD TOWN
                                          OF LEXINGTON

915 PM     US HWY 378                SC   WIND DAMAGE
04/03/98   MCCORMICK                      TREES DOWN ON US HWY 378
                                          NORTHERN MCCORMICK COUNTY

1030 PM    I-20 AND US 1             SC   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   LEXINGTON

1100 PM    BELAIR ROAD               GA   1.75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   COLUMBIA                       DIME TO GOLFBALL SIZED
                                          HAIL

1115 PM    BEACH ISLAND-CLEARWATER   SC   .88 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   AIKEN                          NEAR US1 AND SC HWY 421

1115 PM    SC HWY 302-US 278         SC   .88 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   AIKEN                          2 MILES NORTH OF SC HWY
                                          302-US 278

945 PM     NORTH OF EDGEFIELD        SC   TORNADO
04/03/98   EDGEFIELD                      TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN

915 PM     NORTH OF MCCORMICK        SC   WIND DAMAGE
04/03/98   MCCORMICK                      TREES DOWN

955 PM     SOUTH OF SALUDA           SC   WIND DAMAGE
04/03/98   SALUDA                         TREES DOWN IN SOUTHERN
                                          SALUDA COUNTY

1035 PM    GILBERT                   SC   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   LEXINGTON                      GILBERT TOWN HALL DAMAGED

1120 PM    AUGUSTA                   GA   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98   RICHMOND

TTH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 9:01 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	McCormick	59 min
Apr 3, 9:12 PM EST	Tornado Warning	CAE	McCormick	18 min
Apr 3, 9:36 PM EST	Tornado Warning	CAE	Edgefield, Saluda	39 min
Apr 3, 10:08 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Lexington, Newberry	67 min
Apr 3, 10:19 PM EST	Tornado Warning	CAE	Lexington	56 min
Apr 3, 10:32 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Richland	43 min
Apr 3, 11:04 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Aiken	56 min
Apr 3, 11:04 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Sumter	56 min
Apr 3, 11:55 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Bamberg	35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 1998 Every 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.