Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Charleston, SC

April 15, 1999Colleton County, South Carolina

NWS Charleston, SC issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1999, 4:40 PM EDT for Colleton County, South Carolina. It was in force for 45 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 15, 1999, 4:40 PM EDT (20:40 UTC)
Expired
Apr 15, 1999, 5:25 PM EDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Colleton County, SC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 15, 5:00 PM EDTTornado F1Ritter, SCRoof damage occurred to a house and several outdoor buildings, along withn several trees uprooted or snapped off 15 to 20 feet above the ground.

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 15, 4:15 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 61 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 1999-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 148 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 1999-04-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 286 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
148 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-103 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
695 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
286 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
347 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.

999 
WFUS1 KCHS 152041 RRA
TORCHS
SCC029-152125-

BULLETIN...EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
440 PM EDT THU APR 15 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 525 PM EDT

* AT 440 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO NEAR YEMASSEE...MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  NEAR GREEN POND ON HIGHWAY 303 BETWEEN HIGHWAY 17 AND
  WALTERBORO.

IF YOU ARE IN A MULTIPLE STORY BUILDING...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR
ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

TJR/SLB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 15, 3:43 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSHampton32 min
Apr 15, 3:51 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSJasper34 min
Apr 15, 4:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSHampton31 min
Apr 15, 4:32 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSBeaufort28 min
Apr 15, 5:13 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSCharleston32 min
Apr 15, 5:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSJasper35 min
Apr 15, 5:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSBeaufort34 min
Apr 15, 5:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSJasper49 min
Apr 15, 7:16 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSDorchester34 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.