Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 42, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

April 17, 1998Anderson County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 17, 1998, 3:08 AM EDT for Anderson County, South Carolina. It was in force for 47 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 17, 1998, 3:08 AM EDT (07:08 UTC)
Expired
Apr 17, 1998, 3:55 AM EDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Anderson County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:10 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 17, 1:30 AM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 214 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 00:00Z on 1998-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1217 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 00:00Z on 1998-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 280 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1217 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
573 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
280 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
368 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.0
Supercell composite
10.6

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 17, 3:00 AM EDT, 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 3:00 AM EDT, 8 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE/SPARTANBURG, SC
300 AM EDT FRI APR 17 1998

RAH: CONT LIKELY POPS THIS AM...CHC POPS THIS AFTN...CONTD
     CHC POPS THROUGH SATURDAY...LIKELY IN XTND FOR SUN. MAYBE
     SOME DRIER IAR INTO EXTREME WEST TNT.
CAE/FFC: CONT CATEGORICAL POPS THIS AM...CHC POPS THIS AFTN
         THROUGH SATURDAY.

TWO AREAS OF CONCERN THIS MORNING...CONVECTION MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN
TIER COUNTIES ASSD WITH SEVERE WEATHER...AND APPROACHING AREA OF
CONVECTION FROM CNTRL GA THROUGH UPST...SRN MTNS NC AND SRN AND CNTRL
PIEDMONT NC. NEXT FEW HRS APPR TO BE VERY BUSY...WITH SOME BACK
BUILDING AHEAD OF SRN END OF FRNTL BNDRY.

MDL TRENDS TNT SUGST THAT FRONT WILL PROBABLY STALL OVR SC
MIDLANDS...SUPPROTED BY CONTD NEARLY PARALLEL FLO TO FRNTL BNDRY.
MDLS EVEN SUGTS SOME SHORTWAVE RIDGING TMRW...WITH RISING HGHTS
AND PERHAPS SOME WARMER AIR TO PROVIDE A CAP OF SORTS.

WEEKEND SHUD BE UNSETTELED...ESPEICALLY SRN END CWA WHEREEVER FRONT
BECOMS STANRY. NC POTION MAY ACTUALLY GET INTO DRIER AIR WITH HI
PRES BUILDING INTO THAT AREA LATE TDY HWVR..SRN AREAS TO REMAIN
RATHER MOIST AND UNSTABLE. WILL HAVE TO KEEP A WATCH ON MOST OF CWA
THROUGH SATURDAY NITE FOR FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL RIGHT NOW...SEEMS TO
BE OCCURRING IN ONLY ISOLD PLACES CURNT RADAR TRENDS ARE ENCOURAGING
IN THAT REGARD.

AVL  68/48/63  6/3/3
CLT  72/59/70  7/3/3
GSP  71/63/72  6/3/4

BURRUS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 16, 10:38 PM EDT, 4 hours 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1038 PM EDT THU APR 16 1998

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

1033 PM    NEAR MAIDEN               NC   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/16/98   CATAWBA                        AT LINCOLN COUNTY LINE
                                          CHARLOTTE AREA SKYWARN
                                          REPORT
JONES
Local storm report, Apr 16, 10:38 PM EDT, 4 hours 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1038 PM EDT THU APR 16 1998

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

1033 PM    NEAR MAIDEN               NC   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/16/98   CATAWBA                        AT LINCOLN COUNTY LINE
                                          CHARLOTTE AREA SKYWARN
                                          REPORT
JONES
Special weather statement, Apr 16, 10:58 PM EDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-170900-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1058 PM EDT THU APR 16 1998

...TORNADO WATCH FOR ALL OF WESTERN AND MUCH OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
UNTIL 5 AM AND FOR RABUN AND HABERSHAM COUNTIES IN GEORGIA UNTIL 4 AM...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND FRIDAY INCLUDES NORTHEAST
GEORGIA...
...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE TONIGHT ACROSS UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA AND
THE REMAINDER OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA...

A STEADY STATE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CROSSED THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH
CAROLINA THIS EVENING AND WAS STILL CAUSING LARGE HAIL AS IT MOVED INTO
THE PIEDMONT NORTH OF LINCOLNTON.  SOME TORNADOES AND WIND DAMAGE MAY
HAVE OCCURRED...ESPECIALLY FROM NEAR THE TENNESSEE BORDER TO WEST OF
ASHEVILLE...BUT THE STORM CROSSED RUGGED TERRAIN AND INFORMATION HAS
BEEN DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN TONIGHT.

NUMEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVED OCCURRED FROM THIS AFTERNOON
THROUGH THE EVENING ACROSS TENNESSEE AND NORTH ALABAMA.  LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED.

THIS COULD BE A VERY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION OVERNIGHT...AND PEOPLE
SHOULD MONITOR THE SITUATION CAREFULLY AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND WARNINGS.  HEAVY RAINFALL MAY BECOME A REAL THREAT OVERNIGHT...AND
THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH COULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE OTHER AREAS.

JONES
Special weather statement, Apr 16, 10:58 PM EDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-170900-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1058 PM EDT THU APR 16 1998

...TORNADO WATCH FOR ALL OF WESTERN AND MUCH OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
UNTIL 5 AM AND FOR RABUN AND HABERSHAM COUNTIES IN GEORGIA UNTIL 4 AM...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND FRIDAY INCLUDES NORTHEAST
GEORGIA...
...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE TONIGHT ACROSS UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA AND
THE REMAINDER OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA...

A STEADY STATE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CROSSED THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH
CAROLINA THIS EVENING AND WAS STILL CAUSING LARGE HAIL AS IT MOVED INTO
THE PIEDMONT NORTH OF LINCOLNTON.  SOME TORNADOES AND WIND DAMAGE MAY
HAVE OCCURRED...ESPECIALLY FROM NEAR THE TENNESSEE BORDER TO WEST OF
ASHEVILLE...BUT THE STORM CROSSED RUGGED TERRAIN AND INFORMATION HAS
BEEN DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN TONIGHT.

NUMEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVED OCCURRED FROM THIS AFTERNOON
THROUGH THE EVENING ACROSS TENNESSEE AND NORTH ALABAMA.  LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED.

THIS COULD BE A VERY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION OVERNIGHT...AND PEOPLE
SHOULD MONITOR THE SITUATION CAREFULLY AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND WARNINGS.  HEAVY RAINFALL MAY BECOME A REAL THREAT OVERNIGHT...AND
THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH COULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE OTHER AREAS.

JONES
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 2:56 AM EDT, 12 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 17, 2:56 AM EDT, 12 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 16, 8:14 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPBuncombe, Henderson61 min
Apr 16, 8:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPRutherford61 min
Apr 16, 10:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPLincoln48 min
Apr 16, 10:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCatawba33 min
Apr 16, 10:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPIredell33 min
Apr 17, 2:33 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPCaldwell4 hr
Apr 17, 5:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPIredell28 min
Apr 17, 6:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPDavie28 min
Apr 17, 2:35 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPOconee45 min
Apr 17, 2:50 AM EDTTornado WarningGSPPickens45 min
Apr 17, 3:29 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPSpartanburg46 min
Apr 17, 5:43 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPAnderson2 hr
Apr 17, 6:11 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenville, Laurens44 min
Apr 17, 6:50 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPLaurens, Spartanburg45 min
Apr 17, 7:44 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPAnderson3 hr
Apr 17, 2:19 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPHabersham31 min
Apr 17, 2:31 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPStephens34 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.