Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 43, NWS Columbia, SC

April 17, 1998Richland County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 17, 1998, 6:37 AM EDT for Richland County, South Carolina. It was in force for 23 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 17, 1998, 6:37 AM EDT (10:37 UTC)
Expired
Apr 17, 1998, 7:00 AM EDT
In force
23 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Richland County, SC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 17, 6:50 AM EDTHail 0.75Cedar Creek, SCCOOP observer reported dime size 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 nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 150 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 1998-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 1998-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1205 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-64 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.

569 
WUUS1 KCAE 171034 RRA
SVRCAE
SCC079-171100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
637 AM EDT FRI APR 17 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA SC HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN RICHLAND COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 700 AM EDT 

* AT 630 AM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
  BETWEEN COLUMBIA AND BLYTHEWOOD NEAR KILLIAN...MOVING EAST 
  AT 50 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  PONTIAC AT 640 AM

AMATEUR RADIO AND OTHER SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO MONITOR THIS 
STORM AND RELAY REPORTS PROMPTLY TO THE NEAREST NATIONAL WEATHER 
SERVICE OFFICE.

RCC

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, Apr 17, 6:14 AM EDT, 23 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-
036-037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-171813-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
614 AM EDT FRI APR 17 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 SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT STRETCHING FROM WEST VIRGINIA SOUTHWESTWARD TO
CENTRAL ALABAMA WILL STALL OUT ACROSS THE UPSTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
TODAY. A WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN AHEAD OF THE
FRONT. THIS INCLUDES THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL
SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA.

WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION
THIS MORNING. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL LIKLEY
DEVELOP NORTH AND EAST OF COLUMBIA...FROM LANCASTER COUNTY SOUTHEAST
ACROSS KERSHAW...SUMTER INTO CLARENDON COUNTY. EXPECT WIND GUSTS TO NEAR
40 MPH...RAINFALL AMOUNTS AROUND ONE INCH AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SMALL
HAIL.

CURRENT DATA DOES NOT FAVOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.
THEREFORE...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND SPOTTER ACTIVATION SHOULD
NOT BE REQUIRED.

HOWEVER...ALL THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. ALWAYS MOVE
INDOORS DURING A THUNDERSTORM.

LCV
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 6:14 AM EDT, 23 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-
036-037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-171813-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
614 AM EDT FRI APR 17 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 SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT STRETCHING FROM WEST VIRGINIA SOUTHWESTWARD TO
CENTRAL ALABAMA WILL STALL OUT ACROSS THE UPSTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
TODAY. A WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN AHEAD OF THE
FRONT. THIS INCLUDES THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL
SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA.

WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION
THIS MORNING. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL LIKLEY
DEVELOP NORTH AND EAST OF COLUMBIA...FROM LANCASTER COUNTY SOUTHEAST
ACROSS KERSHAW...SUMTER INTO CLARENDON COUNTY. EXPECT WIND GUSTS TO NEAR
40 MPH...RAINFALL AMOUNTS AROUND ONE INCH AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SMALL
HAIL.

CURRENT DATA DOES NOT FAVOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.
THEREFORE...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND SPOTTER ACTIVATION SHOULD
NOT BE REQUIRED.

HOWEVER...ALL THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. ALWAYS MOVE
INDOORS DURING A THUNDERSTORM.

LCV

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 17, 8:46 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAERichland59 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.