Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Charleston, SC

May 10, 1998Berkeley County, South Carolina

NWS Charleston, SC issued this tornado warning at May 10, 1998, 6:49 PM EDT for Berkeley County, South Carolina. It was in force for 61 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 10, 1998, 6:49 PM EDT (22:49 UTC)
Expired
May 10, 1998, 7:50 PM EDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Berkeley County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:48 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 10, 7:10 PM EDTTornado F0St Stephen, SCSeveral trees and limbs down, mobile home damaged, minor roof damage to several brick homes and outdoor shed destroyed.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 10, 2:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 33 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 1998-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 315 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1998-05-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 51 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
315 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-133 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1032 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
138 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

063 
WFUS1 KCHS 102250 RRA
TORCHS
SCC015-102350-

BULLETIN...EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
649 PM EDT SUN MAY 10 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN BERKELEY COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 750 PM EDT

* AT 648 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO 3 MILES NORTH OF PINEVILLE... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  ST. STEPHEN BY 710 PM
  BONNEAU BY 730 PM

ABANDON MOBILE HOMES GO IN A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING. AS A LAST
RESORT LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

SIMENSKY/BRUESKE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 10, 3:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSJasper62 min
May 10, 4:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSDorchester63 min
May 10, 4:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSBeaufort34 min
May 10, 4:39 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSDorchester46 min
May 10, 5:00 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSBerkeley60 min
May 10, 5:19 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSCharleston61 min
May 10, 6:00 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSBerkeley20 min
May 10, 6:10 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSCharleston40 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.