Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 141, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

December 17, 2001Union County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 17, 2001, 6:55 PM EST for Union County, South Carolina. It was in force for 50 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
Dec 17, 2001, 6:55 PM EST (23:55 UTC)
Expired
Dec 17, 2001, 7:45 PM EST
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Union County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 59 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:57 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Dec 17, 7:05 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 50 EUnion, SC2 trees were blown down along Hwy 49 near Tyger River. Another tree was blocking US 276.
Dec 17, 7:16 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 50 EUnion, SC2 trees were blow down.

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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 220 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2001-12-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2001-12-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 179 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1031 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
172 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

471 
WUUS52 KGSP 172356
SVRGSP
SCC087-180045-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
655 PM EST MON DEC 17 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  UNION COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 745 PM EST

* AT 655 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WINDS FROM 9 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  SPARTANBURG TO 12 MILES EAST OF LAURENS...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  UNION AT 720 PM EST.
  ADAMSBURG AT 730 PM EST.
  CARLISLE AT 735 PM EST.

PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE
ALERT FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN CAN OCCUR WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM.

$$
HG

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 Dec 17, 3:00 PM EST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 17, 3:00 PM EST, 3 hours 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
300 PM EST MON DEC 17 2001

AREA OF RAIN MOVING INTO WRN MOUNTAINS OF NC IS OF PRIMARY CONCERN.
MODELS ARE CONSISTENT WITH BRINGING THE MAIN FORCING FOR PRECIP
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING AND MAKING A QUICK EXIT BY 06Z
TUESDAY. SEE NO REASON TO DISPUTE THIS WITH THE BACK EDGE OF THE
PRECIP ALONG THE COLD FRONT OVER MIDDLE TN AS OF 20Z. WILL GO WITH
AN 80 PERCENT RAIN CHANCE ACROSS ALL ZONES EVEN THOUGH THE BACK EDGE
OF THE RAIN WILL BE WORKING INTO THE WESTERN ZONES AT 6 PM. WORDING
WILL BE MAINLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT IN MOST AREAS EXCEPT FOR THE EASTERN
ZONES. WILL KEEP THE WIND ADVISORY GOING UNTIL THE FRONT ARRIVES IN
THE  MID EVENING SINCE THE POTENTIAL STILL EXISTS FOR CONVECTIVE
ELEMENTS TO BRING SOME HIGHER WIND GUSTS DOWN TO RIDGETOP LEVEL.

SHORT WAVE SHOULD MOVE RAPIDLY OFF THE E COAST TUESDAY MORNING.
EXPECT LINGERING SHOWERS OVER THE NORTHERN NC MOUNTAINS IN THE
MORNING AS WRAPAROUND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IS FORCED UP THE WESTERN
SLOPES...OTHERWISE A GRADUAL CLEARING ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS. ACROSS
THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT...CLEARING WILL BE MORE PRONOUNCED AND
RAPID BY THE MIDDLE PART OF THE DAY AS A STRONG DOWNSLOPE WIND
DEVELOPS. THE DOWNSLOPE WIND SHOULD COUNTER THE COLD ADVECTION AT
LOW LEVELS. WILL STICK CLOSE TO NUMERICAL GUIDANCE.

UPPER RIDGING WILL MOVE ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS FOR THE
REMAINDER OF TUESDAY AND MOST OF WEDNESDAY. THIS SHOULD SPELL FAIR
WEATHER ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA AND GUIDANCE IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED.

THE ETA AND AVN ARE CONSISTENT BRING A SHORT WAVE ACROSS THE WESTERN
CAROLINAS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE
EFFECT ON OUR WEATHER WILL BE MINIMAL AS THIS UPPER SYSTEM WILL
REMAIN CUT OFF FROM GULF AND ATLANTIC MOISTURE.

QUIET AND SEASONABLY COOL WEATHER WILL DOMINATE DAYS 3-5 AS A DRY
NORTHWEST FLOW ON THURSDAY GIVES WAY TO HIGH PRESSURE SETTLING OVER
THE REGION FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.

EXTENDED RANGE MODELS INDICATE SOME INCREASING HIGH LVL RH SATURDAY
NIGHT...FOLLOWED BY A DEEPENING RETURN FLOW ON SUNDAY OUT AHEAD OF
STRONG S/WV MOVING ACROSS THE PLAINS. BEST COMBINATION OF DEEP
MOISTURE & LIFT LOOKS TO BE SUN NITE INTO MONDAY & FOR NOW...WILL
CONFINE SHOWER MENTION TO DAY 7.

FCSTID = 10
GSP   45  62  33  60 /  80   0   0   0
AND   46  63  33  61 /  80   0   0   0
CLT   50  63  33  60 /  80   0   0   0
HKY   45  60  31  57 /  80   0   0   0
AVL   43  56  30  56 /  80  10   0   0

.GSP...
GA...WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS EVENING FOR ZONE GAZ010.
NC...WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS EVENING FOR ZONES
NCZ033...NCZ048>053...NCZ058>059...NCZ062>065.
SC...NONE.

MOORE/55

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 17, 6:51 PM EST, 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
651 PM EST MON DEC 17 2001

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

611 PM     12 SE ELBERTON            GA   WIND DAMAGE
12/17/01   ELBERT                         EOC REPORTED 3 TREES DOWN
                                          ON DR GEORGE WARD RD.

JAT
Local storm report, Dec 17, 6:53 PM EST, 2 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
653 PM EST MON DEC 17 2001

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

630 PM     4 N GRAY COURT            SC   WIND DAMAGE
12/17/01   LAURENS                        TREE DOWN 4 N GRAY COURT

635 PM     LAURENS                   SC   WIND DAMAGE
12/17/01   LAURENS                        TREE DOWN ON ROUTE 221 ON
                                          THE SOUTH SIDE OF
                                          LAURENS.

MCAVOY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 17, 6:24 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPLaurens51 min
Dec 17, 6:44 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPSpartanburg31 min
Dec 17, 6:50 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenwood40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 2001Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.