Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 18, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

April 17, 2002Rutherford County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 17, 2002, 4:01 PM EDT for Rutherford County, North Carolina. It was in force for 29 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 17, 2002, 4:01 PM EDT (20:01 UTC)
Expired
Apr 17, 2002, 4:30 PM EDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Rutherford County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:04 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 197 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 2002-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 155 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2002-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 8 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
155 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-185 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1455 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 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 172001
SVRGSP
NCC161-172030-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
400 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL RUTHERFORD COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 430 PM EDT

* AT 400 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF RUTHERFORDTON...
  OR ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SUNSHINE...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  ELLENBORO AT 415 PM EDT.

ALTHOUGH LARGE HAIL IS THE BIGGEST THREAT WITH THIS SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM...BRIEF DAMAGING WINDS COULD ALSO OCCUR.

$$

RWH

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 Apr 17, 2:51 PM EDT, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 2:51 PM EDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
251 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002

SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA CONTINUE ACROSS WESTERN CAROLINA MOUNTAINS/NC
FOOTHILLS. MORE INTENSE STORMS HAVE PRODUCED SEVERE HAIL.
MEANWHILE...VERY SLOW MOVEMENT HAS RESULTED IN LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL.  WILL CARRY CHANCE POPS AREA-WIDE THROUGH THE
EVENING...BUT END PRECIP AROUND SUNSET...AS CURRENT ACTIVITY IS
LARGELY DRIVEN BY TERRAIN/DIFFERENTIAL HEATING. ACTIVITY IS LIKELY
BEING ENHANCED BY A WEAK SW TROUGH RIDING UP OVER THE MID/UPPER
LEVEL RIDGE. BUT EXPECT THIS TO BECOME LESS OF A FACTOR WITH
TIME...AS IT CONTINUES TO SHEAR OUT.

COULD BE A REPEAT PERFORMANCE TOMORROW AFTERNOON...AS ANOTHER
SHEARING WAVE APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. AT THIS
TIME...WILL CARRY CHANCE POPS IN THE MOUNTAINS...LEAVING SILENT 20S
EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. EXPECT ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AFTERNOON...BUT EXPECT ONLY ISOLATED COVERAGE
AT THIS TIME AND WILL LEAVE SILENT 20S ALONE FOR NOW.

BETTER CHANCES FOR PRECIP SATURDAY...AS FRONTAL BOUNDARY SAGS
SOUTHWARD INTO THE AREA. AVN THEN STALLS THE BOUNDARY THROUGH
SUNDAY. WILL SHOTGUN CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CWA SATURDAY
THROUGH SUNDAY. MUCH UNCERTAINTY REMAINS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF
FRONTAL BOUNDARY DAYS 5-7. MRF MORE OR LESS WASHES IT OUT SOUTH OF
THE CAROLINAS DURING THIS PERIOD. WILL LEAVE MON-WED DRY AT THIS
TIME.

FCSTID = 4
GSP   61  85  61  86 /  30  20  20  20
AND   61  85  61  86 /  30  20  20  20
CLT   61  86  61  86 /  30  20  20  20
HKY   58  82  58  82 /  40  20  20  20
AVL   55  80  56  81 /  40  30  20  20

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

LANE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 17, 2:47 PM EDT, 1 hour 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
247 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002

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

233 PM     BRINDLETOWN               NC   1.75 INCH HAIL
04/17/01   BURKE                          REPORT FROM FIRE CHIEF
                                          RELAYED BY COUNTY EOC

HANDEL
Local storm report, Apr 17, 2:47 PM EDT, 1 hour 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
247 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002

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

233 PM     BRINDLETOWN               NC   1.75 INCH HAIL
04/17/02   BURKE                          REPORT FROM FIRE CHIEF
                                          RELAYED BY COUNTY EOC

HANDEL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 17, 1:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPTransylvania25 min
Apr 17, 2:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPBurke28 min
Apr 17, 2:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPPolk28 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.