Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 54, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 21, 2000Catawba County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 2000, 9:58 PM EDT for Catawba County, North Carolina. It was in force for 47 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: May 21, 2000, 9:58 PM EDT (01:58 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 2000, 10:45 PM EDT
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Catawba County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:01 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 21, 10:10 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Catawba, 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 nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 230 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: 445 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 796 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 39 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 78 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

750 
WUUS52 KGSP 220158
SVRGSP
NCC035-220245-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
958 PM EDT SUN MAY 21 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN CATAWBA COUNTY IN PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1045 PM EDT

* AT 958 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES EAST OF NEWTON...OR ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  CLAREMONT...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  CATAWBA AT 1000 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.

$$

WAJ/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 May 21, 9:33 PM EDT, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 9:33 PM EDT, 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
933 PM EDT SUN MAY 21 2000

CLUSTERS OF SHRA/TSRA HAVE HAD A TENDENCY TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND
MOVE NORTHEAST THROUGH THE SRN MTNS AND FOOTHILLS OF NC THIS
EVENING. OTHER BANDS OF SHRA/TSRA MOVING EAST FROM TN AND N GA.
LATEST SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS A LOW CENTER IN NE TN WITH FRONTAL
BOUNDARY CLOSE TO OUR WRN AND NRN CWA BORDER. ANOTHER LOW CENTER
SITUATED JUST N OF CAE. SFC MOIST CONV MAXIMIZED FROM NE TN...EAST
SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE CLT AREA.

CURRENTLY OUR CWA FEELING THE EFFECTS OF LEFT EXIT OF UPR JET AND
SOME WEAK PVA. MORE PROMINENT 5H TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED VORT MAX NOW
IN WRN KY/TN WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA OVERNIGHT. WITH AREA
SOUNDINGS INDICATING A WEAKLY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE AND FAIRLY DEEP
MOISTURE...WILL NEED TO LEAVE IN AT LEAST A CHC SHRA/TSRA OVERNIGHT
EVERYWHERE. WILL CARRY HIGHER POPS WHERE PRECIP IS ONGOING AT
ISSUANCE.

WILL TWEAK TEMPS UP A BIT IN WRN NC SINCE IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE
DRIER AIR WILL ADVECT IN BEFORE MORNING. PATCHY DENSE FOG LIKELY TOO
IN PLACES WHERE RAIN HAS BEEN MORE ABUNDANT.

.GSP...NONE.

MOYER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 21, 4:52 PM EDT, 5 hours 6 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-220300-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
452 PM EDT SUN MAY 21 2000

...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING...

ABUNDANT MOISTURE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT DRAPED OVER THE FOOTHILLS OF
THE CAROLINAS THIS AFTERNOON WILL PROVIDE A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE EVENING
HOURS. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL ALSO CROSS THE AREA AND HELP
TO TRIGGER THUNDERSTORMS.

COVERAGE OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL STEADILY GROW LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EARLY THIS EVENING...WITH A FEW OF THESE REACHING SEVERE
INTENSITY. THE MAIN THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE FOR HAIL 3/4 TO
1 INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS NEAR 60 MPH. THE THREAT WILL BE
GREATEST OVER PIEDMONT SECTIONS...GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 85 IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE...AND ALONG AND EAST OF
A LINE FROM FOREST CITY TO MORGANTON AND LENOIR IN NORTH CAROLINA.
AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CANNOT BE RULED OUT OVER THE
REMAINDER OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA HOWEVER.

SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO ACTIVATE QUICKLY THIS EVENING.
DISPATCHERS SHOULD ENSURE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE
AWARE OF THIS INFORMATION. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR
FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST UPDATES.

MOORE

Local storm report, May 21, 4:58 PM EDT, 5 hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
458 PM EDT SUN MAY 21 2000

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

442 PM     10 SW MORGANTON           NC   65 MPH TSTM GUST
05/21/00   BURKE                          911 RELAYED PUBLIC REPORT

442 PM     10 SW MORGANTON           NC   .75 INCH HAIL
05/21/00   BURKE                          911 REPORT

JONES
NNNN

Local storm report, May 21, 6:12 PM EDT, 3 hours 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
612 PM EDT SUN MAY 21 2000

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

530 PM     MARTIN                    GA   WIND DAMAGE
05/21/00   STEPHENS                       AMATEUR RADIO RELAYED
                                          REPORT OF A FEW TREES
                                          KNOCKED DOWN AND TOPS OUT
                                          OF PINES.  ALSO MARBLE
                                          HAIL.  TIME ESTIMATED.

JONES
NNNN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 9:36 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Iredell	39 min
May 21, 10:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Rowan	43 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.