Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 140, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 20, 2002, 4:57 PM EDT for Graham County, North Carolina. It was in force for 48 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
- Jun 20, 2002, 4:57 PM EDT (20:57 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 20, 2002, 5:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 48 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Graham County, NC
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:58 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 5:16 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 E | Robbinsville, NC | Two trees were blown down. |
| Jun 20, 5:16 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Robbinsville, 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
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 228 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 570 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -53 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 804 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 9 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -27 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -6 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS52 KGSP 202057 SVRGSP NCC075-202145- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 457 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... GRAHAM COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 545 PM EDT * AT 457 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS 9 MILES EAST OF ROBBINSVILLE...OR ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF STECOAH...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 25 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... STECOAH AT 500 PM EDT. FONTANA VILLAGE AT 505 PM EDT. ROBBINSVILLE AT 515 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/RB
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 Jun 20, 3:03 PM EDT, 1 hour 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 20, 3:03 PM EDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 303 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002 ENOUGH MOISTURE AND LIFT IN THE MOUNTAINS...UNDER MID-LEVEL COLD POOL...TO SPIN UP ISOLATED STRONG CONVECTION IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS. WILL INCLUDE SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING...ELSEWHERE JUST PARTLY CLOUDY. BELIEVE WINDS WILL STAY UP ENOUGH OUTSIDE MOUNTAINS TO PRECLUDE FOG DEVELOPMENT OVERNIGHT...ALTHOUGH I AM FORECASTING A DECREASE LATE. AM FEELING A BIT MORE CONFIDENT WITH THIS FORECAST PACKAGE THAN IN PAST DAYS...AS MODELS SEEM TO FINALLY BE REACHING A CONSENSUS. UPPER LOW TO MIGRATE WESTWARD ACROSS OUR EASTERN AREAS NEXT FEW DAYS...FINALLY REACHING A POSITION IN THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. BOTH ETA AND AVN REMARKABLY SIMILAR IN THEIR HANDLING OF SURFACE WAVE ON SOUTHERN END OF INVERTED TROF ALONG COASTAL SECTIONS...PLACING A LOW IN NORTH FLORIDA BY 48 HOURS. MOISTURE MINIMUM ON FRIDAY...AND MODELS HAVE BACKED OFF ON THEIR 85H COLD ADVECTION WITH THIS SYSTEM FOR FRIDAY. SINCE IT IS LATE JUNE AND CLOUDS SHOULD BE SCATTERED AT BEST...WILL GO ABOVE GUIDANCE MAXES ON FRIDAY ALL AREAS. COULD NOT RULE OUT ANOTHER ROUND OF ISOLATED CONVECTION IN THE MOUNTAINS...BUT COLD POOL SHIFTS SOUTH BY LATE TOMORROW AFTERNOON...AND RESULTANT LAPSE RATES NOT AS STEEP...BUT WILL KEEP OUT OF FORECAST FOR NOW. WE NOW EXPECT MOISTURE TO INCREASE STEADILY FROM THE SOUTHEAST LATE FRIDAY NITE AND SATURDAY...AS UPPER LOW STRENGTHENS TO OUR SOUTH...AND MODELS ADVERTISE A POTENTIALLY IMPRESSIVE UPSLOPE RAINFALL EVENT FOR OUR REGION. HOWEVER...AVN QPF NOT IMPRESSIVE...BUT WILL GO WITH 40 POPS IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA/UPSTATE/AND THE SOUTHERN TIER COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA FOR SATURDAY...WITH 30S FOR REMAINING AREAS TO THE NORTH AND WEST. IN ACCORDANCE WITH MODEL GUIDANCE...WHICH FEATURES PROGD MAXES IN THE 70S FOR MOST AREAS...WILL HAVE A RANGE OF 70S NORTH...TO NEAR 80 SOUTH. LONG RANGE PATTERN LOOKS UNCHANGED UNTIL MIDWEEK. NOGAPS...ECMWF AND CANADIAN BEGIN WEAKENING CLOSED LOW TO AN OPEN WAVE BY MIDWEEK...AND ATTEMPT TO HAVE THE WAVE INFILTRATE THE PERSISTENT UPPER RIDGE...WITH A SURFACE BOUNDARY WORKING TOWARD THE MID ATLANTIC STATES FROM THE NORTH. SOUTHEAST STATES WILL REMAIN MOIST...WARM AND UNSTABLE...SO LONGER RANGE PERIODS FEATURE A CHANCE OF CONVECTION EACH DAY. FCSTID = 44 GSP 64 87 65 79 / 20 10 20 40 AND 64 88 65 79 / 20 10 20 40 CLT 64 87 65 79 / 10 10 20 40 HKY 62 85 64 75 / 10 10 10 30 AVL 58 84 58 76 / 20 20 20 30 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. BURRUS
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jun 20, 2:22 PM EDT, 2 hours 35 minutes before
GAZ010-017-NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-SCZ001>003-202200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 222 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002 THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP IN THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING. COVERAGE OF THE STORMS WILL NOT BE WIDESPREAD. HOWEVER...SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BECOME STRONG...WITH PEA TO MARBLE SIZE HAIL...AND GUSTY WINDS TO 40 MPH OR HIGHER. CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL OCCUR IN THE MOUNTAINS...SO PEOPLE IN OUTDOOR AREAS SHOULD MOVE TO SAFETY BEFORE A STORM ARRIVES. A STORM OR TWO COULD PRODUCE A BIT LARGER HAIL...UP TO DIME OR QUARTER SIZE...AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS COULD BECOME NECESSARY IN THOSE CASES. WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. JONES
Local storm report, Jun 20, 2:57 PM EDT, 2 hours before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
257 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
240 PM 4 NW LEICESTER NC .75 INCH HAIL
06/20/02 BUNCOMBE SPOTTER REPORTED
JONESLocal storm report, Jun 20, 4:34 PM EDT, 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
434 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
420 PM CHEROKEE NC .75 INCH HAIL
06/20/02 SWAIN REPORTED BY COUNTY 911.
425 PM BRYSON CITY NC WIND DAMAGE
06/20/02 SWAIN TREES DOWN
HANDELThe office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 2:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Buncombe | 45 min |
| Jun 20, 4:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Swain | 37 min |
| Jun 20, 5:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Macon | 37 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.