Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1999

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Columbia, SC

February 19, 1999Aiken County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 19, 1999, 10:13 AM EST for Aiken County, South Carolina. It was in force for 47 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
Feb 19, 1999, 10:13 AM EST (15:13 UTC)
Expired
Feb 19, 1999, 11:00 AM EST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Aiken County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:17 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
Feb 19, 10:20 AM ESTHail 1.75Aiken, SCSheriff reported golf ball size hail west of Aiken.

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, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 168 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 1999-02-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 18 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 1999-02-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 216 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
18 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-96 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
657 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
216 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
249 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.

999 
WUUS1 KCAE 191519 RRA
SVRCAE
SCC003-191600-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1013 AM EST FRI FEB 19 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA SC HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  AIKEN COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1100 AM EST

* NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE 
  THUNDERSTORM NEAR NORTH AUGUSTA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES 
  AN HOUR. THIS STORM HAS PRODUCED HAIL IN PARTS OF THE AUGUSTA 
  AREA AS IT MOVED OVER. RADAR INDICATES HAIL SIZE IS INCREASING.
  G.

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, Feb 19, 5:49 AM EST, 4 hours 24 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-036-
037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-191630-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
549 AM EST FRI FEB 19 1999

THE SEVERE WEATHER 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 SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES
IN GEORGIA:

BURKE         COLUMBIA      LINCOLN       MCDUFFIE      RICHMOND

...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...

AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO SHOWER
DEVELOPMENT WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS
WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SMALL HAIL UP TO 1/2 INCH IN
DIAMETER...AND BRIEF WIND GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

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

MILLER
Special weather statement, Feb 19, 5:49 AM EST, 4 hours 24 minutes before
SCZ015-016-018-020-021-022-025-026-027-028-029-030-031-035-036-
037-038-041-GAZ040-063-064-065-077-191630-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
549 AM EST FRI FEB 19 1999

THE SEVERE WEATHER 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 SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES
IN GEORGIA:

BURKE         COLUMBIA      LINCOLN       MCDUFFIE      RICHMOND

...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...

AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO SHOWER
DEVELOPMENT WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS
WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SMALL HAIL UP TO 1/2 INCH IN
DIAMETER...AND BRIEF WIND GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

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

MILLER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 19, 12:56 PM ESTTornado WarningCAEOrangeburg19 min
Feb 19, 1:35 PM ESTTornado WarningCAECalhoun40 min
Feb 19, 2:22 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEClarendon, Orangeburg38 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 1999Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1999

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.