Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Columbia, SC

February 19, 1999Calhoun County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at Feb 19, 1999, 1:35 PM EST for Calhoun County, South Carolina. It was in force for 40 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, 1:35 PM EST (18:35 UTC)
Expired
Feb 19, 1999, 2:15 PM EST
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Calhoun County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 44 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:35 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, 1:54 PM ESTHail 0.88St Matthews, SCSheriff reported nickel size hail in St. Matthews.

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, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 113 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°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 
WFUS1 KCAE 191840 RRA
TORCAE
SCC017-191915-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
135 PM EST FRI FEB 19 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA SC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CALHOUN COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 215 PM EST 

* AT 134 PM EST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
  A TORNADO 10 MILES WEST OF RILEY. THE STORM WAS MOVING TOWARD 
  THE EAST-NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  RILEY AT 152 PM EST
  ST. MATTHEWS AT 157 PM EST
  FT MOTTE AT 210 PM EST

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED 
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT 
AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. 

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

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 19, 10:13 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEAiken47 min
Feb 19, 12:56 PM ESTTornado WarningCAEOrangeburg19 min
Feb 19, 2:22 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEClarendon, Orangeburg38 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes 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.