Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 16, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

September 21, 2002Swain County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Sep 21, 2002, 11:17 PM EDT for Swain County, North Carolina. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 21, 2002, 11:17 PM EDT (03:17 UTC)
Expired
Sep 22, 2002, 2:15 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Swain County, NC

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:16 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 253 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 2002-09-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1817 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 2002-09-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 4 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1817 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
929 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS52 KGSP 220317
FFWGSP
NCC173-220615-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1113 PM EDT SAT SEP 21 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SWAIN COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 215 AM EDT

* AT 1105 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
RAIN FALLING OVER MUCH OF SWAIN COUNTY. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN OVER 
THE COUNTY FOR THE PAST 2 TO 3 HOURS...AND RADAR ESTIMATES THAT 2 TO 
3 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHERN SWAIN COUNTY 
SO FAR.

* THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER THE CENTRAL AND 
NORTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY FOR THE NEXT HOUR. AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 
INCHES OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE. THIS WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL 
STREAMS IN GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. 

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT. IT IS 
IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO STREAMS...RIVERS...OR 
CREEKS WHICH CAN BECOME KILLERS IN HEAVY RAINS. CAMPERS ALONG 
STREAMS SHOULD MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND NOW.

$$
MCAVOY
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 220459
FFSGSP
NCC173-220615-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1256 AM EDT SUN SEP 22 2002

...FLOODING APPEARS IMMINENT ALONG DEEP CREEK IN SWAIN COUNTY...

AT 1250 AM...WEATHER RADAR AT GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SHOWED HEAVY 
RAIN THAT FELL EARLIER HAD SHIFTED EAST INTO HAYWOOD...AND 
JACKSON...COUNTIES. ONLY SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS WERE LEFT IN SWAIN 
COUNTY...MOSTLY IN THE NORTHEAST CORNER.

A CAMPER IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK REPORTED THAT DEEP 
CREEK WAS AT BANKFULL...AND VERY CLOSE TO OVERFLOWING ITS BANKS. 
ALTHOUGH RAIN HAS ENDED FOR THE TIME BEING...THERE COULD BE ENOUGH 
ADDITIONAL INFLOW FROM UPSTREAM FEEDER CREEKS TO SEND DEEP CREEK 
INTO FLOOD. THIS COULD ENDANGER CAMPGROUNDS IN THE NATIONAL PARK 
ALONG DEEP CREEK. A PARK RANGER WAS ENROUTE TO INVESTIGATE.

THERE HAD BEEN NO OTHER REPORTS OF HIGH WATER OR IMMINENT FLOODING 
REPORTED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. 
HOWEVER...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 215 AM.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. USE CAUTION IN OR NEAR ANY SMALL
CREEK TONIGHT...AND AVOID ROUTES THAT YOU KNOW ARE FLOOD PRONE.

PEOPLE IN THE WARNED AREA...ESPECIALLY CAMPERS...SHOULD MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND NOW...DO NOT DELAY. WATER MAY RISE TOO QUICKLY FOR YOU
TO GET OUT OF DANGER LATER.
$$

BURRUS
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 220622
FFSGSP
NCC173-220715-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
216 AM EDT SUN SEP 22 2002

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR SWAIN COUNTY EXPIRED AT 215 AM EDT...

AT 215 AM...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED JUST A FEW DYING RAIN SHOWERS IN 
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...WITH NO RAINFALL IN SWAIN COUNTY. A FEW 
LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS MAY DEVELOP OVERNIGHT...BUT ADDITIONAL HEAVY 
RAINFALL IN SWAIN COUNTY IS NOT EXPECTED UNTIL LATER TODAY.

LAW ENFORCEMENT CONFIRMED DEEP CREEK REMAINS ELEVATED WITHIN THE 
SOUTHERN REACHES OF THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK...BUT 
WITH NO ADDITIONAL AREAS OF IMMINENT CONCERN FROM ACROSS THE COUNTY.
PARK PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN MONITORING CAMPGROUNDS ALONG DEEP 
CREEK...BUT NO ACTUAL FLOODING WITHIN THE DEEP CREEK BASIN HAS 
BEEN OBSERVED. 

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE RADIO OR 
TELEVISION STATION...FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

$$
BURRUS

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in North Carolina, 2002Every flash flood warning 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.