Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 11, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 31, 2002Union County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 31, 2002, 1:55 PM EST for Union County, South Carolina. It was in force for 35 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
Mar 31, 2002, 1:55 PM EST (18:55 UTC)
Expired
Mar 31, 2002, 2:30 PM EST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Union County, SC

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 31, 2:15 PM ESTHail 1Monarch Mills, SC

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, 6.9 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 2002-03-31Temperature 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 2002-03-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 132 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
472 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
230 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.

000 
WUUS52 KGSP 311855
SVRGSP
SCC087-311930-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
155 PM EST SUN MAR 31 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 230 PM EST

* AT 155 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS OVER UNION...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  ADAMSBURG AT 200 PM EST.

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.

$$
MCAVOY

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 Mar 31, 10:40 AM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 10:40 AM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1040 AM EST SUN MAR 31 2002

NOT A BAD LOOKING SETUP FOR SOME SEVERE LATER THIS AFTERNOON. SFC
BNDRY CURRENTLY DRAPED ACROSS THE NC/SC BORDER. IF ANYTHING...THIS
BNDRY HAS BEEN MOVING A LITTLE SOUTH THE PAST COUPLE HOURS. 12 UTC
FFC SOUNDING HAD A 21 DEG TEMP DELTA FROM H7 TO H5...THOUGH THE
SOUNDING WAS RATHER CAPPED.

WE WL BE IN THE ENTRANCE REGION OF A 60 KT H5 JET LATER THIS
AFTN...WITH A DEEP AREA OF GOOD UPPER DIVERGENCE AHEAD OF THE SRN
STREAM VORT AS IT SHEARS OUT. BY 00 UTC...COUPLED JET CIRCULATION
ALSO DEVELOPS OVER THE REGION.

NOT SURE IF ANYTHING WL ACTUALLY DEVELOP ON THE WARM FRONT...BUT IF
IT DOES...THE POTENTIAL WOULD EXISTS FRO A FEW SUPERCELLS WITH HIGH
HELICITY ALONG THE FRONT. MORE LIKELY...MCS WL DEVELOP ALONG SFC
BNDRY AND RAPIDLY TRANSLATE E INTO CWA BY LATE AFTN. WITH THE STEEP
LAPSE RATES AND DWPT RECOVERY INTO THE L-M60S BY LATE AFTN...THINK
THE SC AND SRN NC PIEDMONT STAND A GOOD CHANCE TO SEE SOME DAMAGING
WINDS AND HAIL.

FCSTID = 14
GSP   70  45  67  45 /  90  70   0   0
AND   72  46  68  46 /  90  70   0   0
CLT   65  47  66  44 /  90  70   0   0
HKY   59  46  65  42 /  90  60   0   0
AVL   64  43  60  39 /  90  60   0  10

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

MCAVOY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 31, 11:52 AM EST, 2 hours 3 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-312100-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1152 AM EST SUN MAR 31 2002

...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING...

LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE FROM THE GULF STATES INTO THE WESTERN
CAROLINAS THIS EVENING. THE ATMOSPHERE AHEAD OF THE LOW PRESSURE
AREA IS MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND IS FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
THUNDERSTORMS. A FEW OF THESE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE ACROSS THE
WESTERN CAROLINAS AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA...ESPECIALLY NEAR
AND TO THE SOUTH OF A LINE FROM CLARKESVILLE GEORGIA...TO GREENVILLE
SOUTH CAROLINA...TO STATESVILLE NORTH CAROLINA.

WHILE THE MAIN THREATS WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND
HAIL...ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION...LOCALIZED
FLOODING COULD QUICKLY DEVELOP FROM HEAVY RAINFALL ASSOCIATED WITH
THESE THUNDERSTORMS...PARTICULARLY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS.

ALL INTERESTS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER
AND KEEP POSTED ON WEATHER STATEMENTS...WATCHES...OR WARNINGS WHICH
MAY BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. BE PREPARED TO TAKE
QUICK ACTION IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGHTED OR A WARNING IS
ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA.

SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO ACTIVATE QUICKLY LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. DISPATCHERS SHOULD ENSURE COUNTY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
OFFICIALS ARE AWARE OF THIS INFORMATION.

HANDEL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 31, 2:17 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPYork43 min
Mar 31, 2:24 PM ESTTornado WarningGSPYork36 min
Mar 31, 2:47 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPChester43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 2002Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.