Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 56, NWS Columbia, SC

May 3, 1998Burke County, Georgia

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 1998, 1:19 PM EDT for Burke County, Georgia. It was in force for 41 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
May 3, 1998, 1:19 PM EDT (17:19 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 1998, 2:00 PM EDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Burke County, GA

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:21 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
May 3, 2:06 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 55Waynesboro, GAA severe thunderstorm took down several trees on highway 25.

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, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 187 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 1998-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 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 1998-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 28 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-169 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1523 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
79 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.

850 
WUUS1 KCAE 031723 RRA
SVRCAE
GAC033-031800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
119 PM EDT SUN MAY 3 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA SC HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  BURKE COUNTY IN GEORGIA

* UNTIL 200 PM EDT 

* AT 120 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS 
  THAT WERE LIKELY SEVERE MOVING INTO THE WEST PART OF BURKE 
  COUNTY.  THE MOST THREATENED AREA IS THE ROSIER AREA IN WESTERN 
  BURKE COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST NEAR 
  40 MPH.

EXPECT HAIL THREE-QUARTERS OF AN INCH IN DIAMETER WITH THESE 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

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

RJL

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, May 3, 11:25 AM EDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-
036-037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-032315-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1125 AM EDT SUN MAY 3 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

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED IN GEORGIA ALONG A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE
AT THE SURFACE AND AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT IN WESTERN
TENNESSEE AND IN MISSISSIPPI. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD
EASTWARD AHEAD OF THESE WEATHER FEATURES.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AS EARLY AS NOON IN THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH
RIVER AREA OF EAST-CENTRAL GEORGIA...MAINLY TO THE WEST OF THE AUGUSTA
AREA. HOWEVER...THE ACTIVITY SHOULD SPREAD INTO THE AUGUSTA-AIKEN AREA
BETWEEN NOON AND 1 PM. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST AND
SHOULD MOVE INTO THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA INCLUDING AREAS WEST OF
THE COLUMBIA METRO AREA BY 2 PM. BY 3 PM...THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD
FROM COLUMBIA SOUTHWARD AND EASTWARD TO AN ORANGEBURG-SUMTER-CHERAW
LINE. A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE SEVERE WEATHER. THE MAIN
THREAT WILL BE 3/4 TO ONE INCH HAIL OR DIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL. SOME
STORMS MAY ALSO CONTAIN WIND GUSTS 40 TO 60 MPH.

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.

TTH
Special weather statement, May 3, 11:25 AM EDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-
036-037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-032315-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1125 AM EDT SUN MAY 3 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

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED IN GEORGIA ALONG A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE
AT THE SURFACE AND AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT IN WESTERN
TENNESSEE AND IN MISSISSIPPI. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD
EASTWARD AHEAD OF THESE WEATHER FEATURES.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AS EARLY AS NOON IN THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH
RIVER AREA OF EAST-CENTRAL GEORGIA...MAINLY TO THE WEST OF THE AUGUSTA
AREA. HOWEVER...THE ACTIVITY SHOULD SPREAD INTO THE AUGUSTA-AIKEN AREA
BETWEEN NOON AND 1 PM. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST AND
SHOULD MOVE INTO THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA INCLUDING AREAS WEST OF
THE COLUMBIA METRO AREA BY 2 PM. BY 3 PM...THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD
FROM COLUMBIA SOUTHWARD AND EASTWARD TO AN ORANGEBURG-SUMTER-CHERAW
LINE. A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE SEVERE WEATHER. THE MAIN
THREAT WILL BE 3/4 TO ONE INCH HAIL OR DIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL. SOME
STORMS MAY ALSO CONTAIN WIND GUSTS 40 TO 60 MPH.

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.

TTH

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 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.