Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 18, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

April 3, 1998Graham County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1998, 6:17 PM EST for Graham County, North Carolina. It was in force for 58 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, 6:17 PM EST (23:17 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 1998, 7:15 PM EST
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Graham County, NC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 3, 6:40 PM ESTHail 0.75Fontana Vlg, NC

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
Apr 3, 6:00 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 228 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1998-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 26 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1998-04-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 78 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
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
560 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
78 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
210 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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.

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 3, 2:06 PM EST, 4 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 2:06 PM EST, 4 hours 11 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
206 PM EST FRI APR 3 1998

CAE/RAH/FFC: LIKELY POPS TONIGHT...POSS SVR.  MOST CLEARING
              ON SATURDAY ACRS SC/GA.

SFC BNDRY CONTS LIFT NWD WEST OF THE MTNS THIS AFTERNOON WITH
ITS EASTERN EXTENT MAKING SLOWER NWD PROGRESS TOWARDS MY CWA
THANKS TO RAIN-COOLED STABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE.  LEADING EDGE
OF DRYING ALOFT IS WORKING THRU FA ATTM WITH A SHARP BACK
EDGE TO PCPN & DRY AIR MIXING DOWN IS EVEN CLRG CLDS ACRS
WESTERN SECTIONS.  WITH CATEGORICAL PCPN CVRG ENDING THIS
AFTERNOON...FEEL BNDRY SHOULD MAKE PROGRESS NORTH INTO AT
LEAST PART OF THE FA BY EARLY EVENING.

AS UPPER LOW CONTS TO MOVE EAST...WIND FIELDS THROUGHOUT ENTIRE
ATMOSPHERE WILL BE ON THE INCREASE OVER THE FA.  BEST CHC FOR
SVR THIS EVENING WILL BE ALG & SOUTH OF THIS BNDRY WHERE
INSTABILITY WILL BE GREATEST.  PREVIOUSLY RECOGNIZED THREAT
DURING THIS EVENING PERIOD STILL LOOKS ON TRACK.

COLD OR OCCLUDED FRT TO MOVE THRU EARLY SAT AM WITH SFC LOW
CONT TO DEEPEN IN THE COASTAL PLAIN...INCREASING GRADIENT.
SOME WRAP AROUND RH TO REMAIN IN THE MTNS & IN NC...OTHERWISE
PROGRESSIVE DRYING & BZY THRU THE DAY.

AVL  45/57/37/60  7200
CLT  54/65/42/65  6300
GSP  49/67/40/67  7100

CSH

The office that day

Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 6:33 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPSwain57 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North 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.