Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1999
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Apr 24, 1999, 3:50 PM EDT for Laurens County, South Carolina. It was in force for 30 min. 4 reports 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 24, 1999, 3:50 PM EDT (19:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 24, 1999, 4:20 PM EDT
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Laurens County, SC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:50 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 4:06 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Laurens, SC | |
| Apr 24, 4:28 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Mountville, SC | |
| Apr 24, 4:28 PM EDT | Hail 2.25 | Mountville, SC | |
| Apr 24, 4:30 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Cross Hill, SC |
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, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 256 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1256 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -147 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1157 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 105 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 125 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KGSP 241950 RRA TORGSP SCC059-242020- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 350 PM EDT SAT APR 24 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... LAURENS COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 420 PM EDT * AT 347 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF LAURENS OR 5 MILES WEST OF ORA... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... ORA AT 350 PM EDT LAURENS AT 405 PM EDT COLD POINT AT 405 PM EDT CLINTON AT 410 PM EDT IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME OR BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. STAY AWAY FROM DOORS AND WINDOWS. DEO
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Apr 24, 2:55 PM EDT, 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 24, 2:55 PM EDT, 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 255 PM EDT SAT APR 24 1999 ISOLATED TSTMS FIRING ATTM IN GSP VCNTY IN HIGHER DWPT/CNVRG AXIS... AS PER LATEST ADAP & MESOANALYSIS. WILL BASE DECISION ON WHETHER TO INCLUDE EVENING PERIOD IN ZFP FOR THIS ACTIVITY OR JUST NOWCAST BASED ON COVERAGE AT ISSUANCE TIME...ABOUT 330-345 PM. OTHERWISE...WILL CONTINUE 30% POP FOR LIGHT RAIN WHERE CURRENTLY MENTIONED TONIGHT DUE TO COMBINATION OF DEVELOPING WEAK SOUTHERLY 850 MB FLOW...UPSLOPE AND CONVERGENCE ALONG INVERTED SFC TROUGH. NEW SHORT RANGE GUIDANCE IN DECENT AGREEMENT IN KEEPING FORCING MINIMAL IN WEAK NW FLOW ALOFT THEREAFTER THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT WITH AVAILABLE RH NARROW & CONFINED TO AROUND 850 MB. BY 48 HRS...12Z MON...UPPER LEVEL FEATURES HANDLED SIMILARLY BY MODELS WITH S/WV RIDGE AXIS STILL WEST OF MTNS WITH AVN TRANSLATING THIS FEATURE EASTWARD DURING THE DAY IN RESPONSE TO UPPER LOW HEADING ACROSS THE PLAINS. EFFECTS OF LLVL RIDGING EXPECTED TO BE LESSENING SO LIKELY TO SEE INCREASING AMTS OF DEEPER RH & RETURN FLOW. FWC/FAN NUMBERS IN AGREEMENT WITH CHC POPS FOR WESTERN SECTIONS IN THE AFTERNOON & AT THIS POINT LOOKS TO BE REASONABLE & WILL FOLLOW. AVL 49/65/49/71 3213 CLT 50/70/52/76 2112 GSP 55/71/53/77 3213 .GSP...NONE. CSH
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 24, 3:31 PM EDT, 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
331 PM EDT SAT APR 24 1999
TIME (EDT) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST ...EVENT/REMARKS...
.....COUNTY LOCATION.....
322 PM SIMPSONVILLE SC .75 INCH HAIL
04/24/99 GREENVILLE
328 PM FOUNTAIN INN SC .88 INCH HAIL
04/24/99 GREENVILLE
BPMLocal storm report, Apr 24, 3:31 PM EDT, 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
331 PM EDT SAT APR 24 1999
TIME (EDT) .....CITY LOCATION....... ST ...EVENT/REMARKS...
.....COUNTY LOCATION.....
322 PM SIMPSONVILLE SC .75 INCH HAIL
04/24/99 GREENVILLE
328 PM FOUNTAIN INN SC .88 INCH HAIL
04/24/99 GREENVILLE
BPMThe office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 3:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Greenville, Laurens | 46 min |
| Apr 24, 4:19 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Laurens | 51 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.