Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 48, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 2000, 5:11 PM EDT for Burke County, North Carolina. It was in force for 49 min. 2 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
- May 20, 2000, 5:11 PM EDT (21:11 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 2000, 6:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Burke County, NC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 5:15 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 E | (Hky)Hickory Muni Ar, NC | |
| May 20, 5:30 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 E | Morganton, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 4:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 255 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
- 38 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -61 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 696 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 87 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 130 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS52 KGSP 202110 SVRGSP NCC023-202200- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 511 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2000 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... SOUTHERN BURKE COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 600 PM EDT * AT 509 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MORGANTON...OR ABOUT 6 MILES SOUTH OF GLEN ALPINE...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... DREXEL AT 515 PM EDT VALDESE AT 520 PM EDT PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SHOULD BE #ALERT FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN CAN OCCUR WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM. $$ SAB
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 May 20, 2:35 PM EDT, 2 hours 36 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 20, 2:35 PM EDT, 2 hours 36 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 235 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2000 GREATER COVERAGE OF RADAR ECHOES SHOWING UP OVER WESTERN APPALACHIANS JUST AHEAD OF FRONT. THIS AREA ALSO FORCED BY WEAK UPPER DIVERGENCE OF JET IN OH VALLEY. WITH LAPS CAPES 2000+ AND MID LEVEL CAP SLOWLY ERODING...COVERAGE AND INTENSITY SHOULD GROW OVER MTNS THROUGH EVENING. PROFILES STILL LOOK SOMEWHAT MARGINAL FOR SEVERE WITH EQUIVALENT POTENTIAL TEMP LAPSES SHOWING 35+ KT GUST POTENTIAL AND 10K FT WET BULB ZERO SUGGESTING THAT AT LEAST SMALL HAIL WILL BE PRESENT WITH THESE STORMS. MUCH BETTER COVERAGE IS EXPECTED WITH THE SHORTWAVE THAT WILL SWEEP QUICKLY INTO THE AREA FROM THE SW TONIGHT CIRCA 06Z. THIS WILL BE COINCIDENT WITH THE BEST LOW LEVEL MOIST FLUX COVERGENCE AHEAD OF THE FRONT AND STRONG DIVERGENCE IN THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF THE JET. STRONGLY POSITIVE AREA ABOVE THE LFC WILL PERSIST...SO WITH SUCH DEEP LAYER LIFT THE DIURNALLY UNFAVORABLE TIME SHOULD NOT BE A STRONG LIMITING FACTOR FOR COVERAGE AND PSBL SEVERE. WILL BEEF UP WORDING A BIT. SFC LOW LINGERS OVER NC PIEDMONT THROUGH SUN NIGHT WHILE WEAK UPPER ENERGY ASSOC WITH DPVA IN ERN TROF CONT TO AFFECT THE AREA. WILL NEED CHC POPS THROUGH REMAINDER OF SHORT TERM WITH BEST CHC PIEDMONT SECTIONS WHERE LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE PERSISTS. WILL KEEP EXTENDED DRY AS FLOW BECOMES INCREASINGLY ZONAL. ANY MOISTURE WILL BE EMBEDDED IN AN UNFAVORABLE W TO NW FLOW. AVL 57/76/56/76 7333 CLT 67/85/63/81 7443 GSP 65/85/60/80 7333 .GSP...NONE. HG
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 20, 3:49 PM EDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-210230- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 349 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2000 ...SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN CAROLINAS... A COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE PUSHING ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOPED IN THE MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THIS EVENING AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE HELPS GIVE THE FRONT A PUSH EASTWARD. DEEPER MOISTURE...AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND DRIER AIR IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE SHOULD AID IN THE FORMATION OF NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVERNIGHT. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS COULD REACH SEVERE LEVELS. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN OKLAHOMA HAS PLACED MOST OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA IN A SLIGHT RISK CATEGORY FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT. PRESENT INDICATIONS POINT TO LARGE HAIL...DIME-SIZED OR GREATER... AS THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. DAMAGING SURFACE WINDS OF 60 MPH OR GREATER COULD NOT BE RULED OUT BUT ANALYSIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON SUGGESTED THAT WIND DAMAGE WOULD BE ISOLATED IN NATURE. THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA WILL BE THE MOST LIKELY AREAS TO EXPERIENCE SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING. TOWARD BEDTIME...THE SEVERE WEATHER AREA WILL SHIFT TO THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL WEAKEN DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS...BUT WILL STILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY DOWNPOURS. WITH THE GROUND BEING SO HARD FROM A RECENT SPELL OF DRY WEATHER... RUNOFF INTO STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL BE EXACERBATED IF RAINFALL IS TOO HARD TO BE SOAKED INTO THE GROUND. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF ENCOUNTERING STANDING WATER ON ROADS AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION FOR LATER STATEMENTS ON THIS POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE. BURRUS
Special weather statement, May 20, 3:50 PM EDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-210230- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 350 PM EDT SAT MAY 20 2000 ...SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN CAROLINAS... A COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE PUSHING ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOPED IN THE MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THIS EVENING AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE HELPS GIVE THE FRONT A PUSH EASTWARD. DEEPER MOISTURE...AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND DRIER AIR IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE SHOULD AID IN THE FORMATION OF NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVERNIGHT. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS COULD REACH SEVERE LEVELS. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN OKLAHOMA HAS PLACED MOST OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA IN A SLIGHT RISK CATEGORY FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT. PRESENT INDICATIONS POINT TO LARGE HAIL...DIME-SIZED OR GREATER... AS THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. DAMAGING SURFACE WINDS OF 60 MPH OR GREATER COULD NOT BE RULED OUT BUT ANALYSIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON SUGGESTED THAT WIND DAMAGE WOULD BE ISOLATED IN NATURE. THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA WILL BE THE MOST LIKELY AREAS TO EXPERIENCE SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING. TOWARD BEDTIME...THE SEVERE WEATHER AREA WILL SHIFT TO THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL WEAKEN DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS...BUT WILL STILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY DOWNPOURS. WITH THE GROUND BEING SO HARD FROM A RECENT SPELL OF DRY WEATHER... RUNOFF INTO STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL BE EXACERBATED IF RAINFALL IS TOO HARD TO BE SOAKED INTO THE GROUND. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF ENCOUNTERING STANDING WATER ON ROADS AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION FOR LATER STATEMENTS ON THIS POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 3:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Yancey | 35 min |
| May 20, 3:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Buncombe | 29 min |
| May 20, 4:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | McDowell | 42 min |
| May 20, 5:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Alexander, Catawba | 42 min |
| May 20, 5:48 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Iredell | 42 min |
| May 20, 6:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Davie | 57 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2000Every 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.