Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Columbia, SC

May 3, 2002Richmond County, Georgia

NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at May 3, 2002, 6:31 PM EDT for Richmond County, Georgia. It was in force for 29 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 3, 2002, 6:31 PM EDT (22:31 UTC)
Expired: May 3, 2002, 7:00 PM EDT
In force: 29 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Richmond County, GA

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:32 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 3, 6:40 PM EDT	Hail 1.75	Augusta, GA	Spotter reported golf ball size hail at Goshen Plantation.
May 3, 6:48 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Augusta, GA	Emergency manager reported several trees down in Goshen Plantation.

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 3, 3:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr
May 3, 6:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 194 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: 1445 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -140 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 808 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: 159 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KCAE 032231
TORCAE
GAC245-032300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
631 PM EDT FRI MAY 3 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
    EASTERN RICHMOND COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA

* UNTIL 700 PM EDT.

* AT 630 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTH OF SOUTH
  AUGUSTA..MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

GO TO A BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

REPORT ANY HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS OR FLOODING TO YOUR COUNTY SHERIFF
OR CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1-800-775-7199.

LAT...LON 3343 8207 3326 8206 3329 8191 3345 8192

RCC

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 3, 5:43 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Columbia	47 min
May 3, 6:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Richmond	42 min
May 3, 6:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	McDuffie	23 min
May 3, 7:12 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Burke	33 min
May 3, 7:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Burke	29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes in 2002

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.