Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 163, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

August 18, 2000Rowan County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 18, 2000, 4:34 PM EDT for Rowan County, North Carolina. It was in force for 41 min. 3 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: Aug 18, 2000, 4:34 PM EDT (20:34 UTC)
Expired: Aug 18, 2000, 5:15 PM EDT
In force: 41 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Rowan County, NC

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 156 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:36 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
Aug 18, 4:35 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 70 E	Salisbury, NC	A massive area of wind damage occurred at the Interstate 85 bridge which spans the Yadkin River, and surrounding areas. Hundreds of trees were blown down, including several 100 year old oaks, trees fell on houses, roofs were blown off barns, and an 18-wheeler
Aug 18, 5:10 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 65 E	Salisbury, NC	Severe straight-line winds hit the Salisbury-Rowan County Airport, flipping 3 planes and blowing hangars apart and into the nearby woods. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down as well.
Aug 18, 5:10 PM EDT	Hail 1.75	Salisbury, NC

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 18, 2:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 75 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1062 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -144 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1066 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 166 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 192 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

875 
WUUS52 KGSP 182035
SVRGSP
NCC159-182115-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
434 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN ROWAN COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT

* AT 434 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM WITH DAMAGING WINDS 7 MILES NORTH OF SALISBURY...OR
  ABOUT 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF SPENCER...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  SALISBURY AT 440 PM EDT
  HIGH ROCK LAKE AT 445 PM EDT
  SPENCER AT 445 PM EDT
  GRANITE QUARRY AT 455 PM EDT
  CRAVEN AT 510 PM EDT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS CAN REACH SPEEDS OF 60 TO 100 MPH. THESE
WINDS BLOW DOWN TREES...POWER LINES...AND SEVERELY DAMAGE MOBILE
HOMES AND SOMETIMES BUILDINGS. VERY LARGE OR WIND-DRIVEN HAIL CAN
INJURE ANYONE CAUGHT OUTSIDE.

$$
RB/BWM

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 Aug 18, 1:55 PM EDT, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 18, 1:55 PM EDT, 2 hours 39 minutes before

SCZ001>014-019-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-GAZ010-017-018-026-028-
029-190023-

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
155 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 2000

MAIN CONCERN IS FOR SEVERE WEATHER THIS EVENING. OLD OUTFLOW HAS
LEFT A BOUNDARY SOUTH OF LINE FROM HKY TO RUQ AND NORTH OF CLT.
TEMPS SOUTH OF THAT LINE UNDER BASICALLY A CLOUDLESS SKY HAVE RISEN
INTO THE MID AND UPR 90S WITH CAPES OVER 4000 J/KG ALONG
SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES. LEE TROUGH IN PLACE IN THE FOOTHILLS...SO WE
AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF MID/UPR SUPPORT WHICH APPEARS TO BE COMING
THROUGH E TN ATTM. JUST GOT WORD THAT MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE
PLACED UNDER A WATCH WITH DAMAGING WIND THE MAIN THREAT...SO ENOUGH SAID.
WILL TAPER POPS FROM CHC IN MTNS TO LIKELY SOUTH AND EAST FOR THIS
EVENING.

COLD FRONT TO MOVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE AREA LATER TONIGHT AND
STALL ACROSS CENT GULF COAST STATES. SLIGHTLY COOLER AND DRIER
NORTHEAST TO EAST FLOW SHOULD RESULT IN A PLEASANT DAY FOR MOST
AREAS SATURDAY. ETA SHOWS A BLOW UP OF CONVECTION IN THE UPSTATE
SATURDAY AFTN IN RESPONSE TO SOME LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE. BUT THERE
IS NO UPPER SUPPORT SO WILL DISCOUNT AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...ON
SUNDAY INVERTED TROUGH AXIS FOCUSES CONVERGENCE OVER MTNS AHEAD OF
WEAK SHORTWAVE DROPPING SOUTHEAST IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW. SOUTHEAST
LOW-LEVEL FLOW INTO THE MTNS MAY HELP TO SUPPORT CONVECTION AS WELL.
WILL INCLUDE A SMALL CHC FOR THE NC MTNS FOR SUNDAY AND LEAVE
ADJACENT MTN AND FOOTHILL ZONES IN THE UNMENTIONABLE SLIGHT CHC
CATEGORY FOR THE TIME BEING. TEMPS SHOULD REMAIN AT OR BELOW NORMAL
THROUGH SHORT RANGE.

IN THE EXTENDED...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT IS BASICALLY IN CONTROL OF
ENTIRE SOUTHERN U.S. A COLD FRONT DOES MOVE INTO THE AREA WEDNESDAY
SO WILL PUT IN A CHC POPS IN THE MTNS AND NC FOOTHILLS.

PRELIMINARY CCF...KEEP IN MIND POPS FOR FIRST PERIOD WILL BE HIGHER
THAN SHOWN BELOW.

FCSTID = 26
GSP   71  90  68  88 /  30  20  10  20
AND   70  91  67  89 /  40  20  10  20
CLT   68  88  66  86 /  50  10   0   0
HKY   67  87  65  85 /  30  10   0  10
AVL   65  85  62  82 /  30  20  20  30

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

MOYER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 18, 4:19 PM EDT, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
419 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 2000

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

340 PM     5 W HENDERSONVILLE        NC   WIND DAMAGE
08/18/00   HENDERSON                      SEVERAL TREES DOWN ON
                                          HEBRON ROAD. REPORT FROM
                                          HENDERSON COUNTY SHERIFFS
                                          DEPARTMENT.

LGL

Local storm report, Aug 18, 4:25 PM EDT, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
425 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 2000

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

320 PM     MOCKSVILLE                NC   WIND DAMAGE
08/18/00   DAVIE                          REPORTS OF TREES DOWN IN
                                          MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. DAVIE
                                          COUNTY DISPATCH.

LGL

Local storm report, Aug 18, 4:32 PM EDT, 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
432 PM EDT FRI AUG 18 2000

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

410 PM     10 W MORGANTON            NC   WIND DAMAGE
08/18/00   BURKE                          POWER LINES AND TREES
                                          DOWN NEAR LAKE JAMES.
                                          BURKE COUNTY EOC.

LGL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 18, 2:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Iredell	34 min
Aug 18, 3:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Davie	35 min
Aug 18, 4:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Lincoln	44 min
Aug 18, 5:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cleveland, Gaston	44 min
Aug 18, 5:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Rowan	45 min
Aug 18, 5:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	54 min
Aug 18, 5:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cabarrus	48 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2000 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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.