Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 204, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

July 3, 2002Cleveland County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 3, 2002, 7:58 PM EDT for Cleveland County, North Carolina. It was in force for 62 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: Jul 3, 2002, 7:58 PM EDT (23:58 UTC)
Expired: Jul 3, 2002, 9:00 PM EDT
In force: 62 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Cleveland County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 78 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:04 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 3, 8:15 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Shelby, NC	Numerous trees were blown down across the area.

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
Jul 3, 2:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 12.0 hours before the alert went out and 171 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: 429 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -175 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1263 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 39 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 032358
SVRGSP
NCC045-040100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
800 PM EDT WED JUL 3 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CLEVELAND COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 900 PM EDT

* AT 800 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES NORTH OF SHELBY...OR ABOUT OVER LAWNDALE...
  MOVING NORTHWEST AT 5 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BELWOOD AT 805 PM.
  POLKVILLE AT 810 PM.
  CASAR AT 825 PM.

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.

$$

TOMKO/LAMB

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 Jul 3, 3:45 PM EDT, 4 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 3, 3:45 PM EDT, 4 hours 13 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
345 PM EDT WED JUL 3 2002

WATCH BOX IS FILLING IN NICELY WITH CONVECTION ATTM. WENT CAT POPS
MTNS...LIKELY FOOTHILLS AND CHANCE IN THE PIEDMONT FOR THIS EVENING.
CONVECTION IS DEVELOPING IN AN AREA OF LLVL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE
WHICH EXTENDS FROM CENTRAL VA SW TO THE UPSTATE. THIS IS IN RESPONSE
TO UPPER LOW OVER EASTERN NC WHICH HAS HELPED TO SHARPEN SFC TROF
OVER THE REGION.

SUSPECT THAT CONVECTION OVER VA WL CONTINUE TO FILL IN ALONG THE LEE
TROF AND EVENTUALLY START MOVING MORE RAPIDLY TO THE SW AS H5 WINDS
INCREASE AT LITTLE BY 00 UTC. EVEN IF THE MCS SCENARIO DOES NOT PAN
OUT...CONVECTION FIRED FOR SEVERAL HOURS LAST NGHT ON OUTFLOW
BNDRYS...AND EXPECT SIMILAR BEHAVIOR TNGT.

JULY 4TH REALLY DOESN/T LOOK MUCH DIFFERENT FROM TDA. WL START W/40
POPS IN THE MTNS AND THE FOOTHILLS AND 30S FARTHER EAST...BUT
WOULDN/T BE SURPRISED IF WE HAVE TO UP THE POPS AGAIN IN THE AFTN.

ON FRI SFC FRONT WL FALL ACROSS THE NRN HALF OF THE CWA. UPPER
SUPPORT IS STILL WEAK...AND WE ARE UNDER NVA UNTIL THE EARLY
EVENING...BUT MOISTURE POOLING ALONG THE FRONT SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT
FOR MORE SCT TSRA.

EXTENDED...
SUN...AVN KEEPS SFC BOUNDARY WITHIN THE CWA WITH SUBZERO LIS AND
HOT AND HUMID AIRMASS IN PLACE. BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE SOME TS
IN THE CWA BUT QUESTION REMAINS ABOUT FRONTAL PLACEMENT AS AVN IS
CHANGING WITH EACH RUN. HEIGHTS FALL ON MON BRINGING SOME UPPER
SUPPORT AND WILL INTRODUCE CHC POPS FOR CONVECTION. TUES FROPA
BEGINS TO TAKE PLACE WITH AVN BACKING OFF OF CAA IT WAS ADVERTISING
ON THE 02.00Z RUN. FRONT HAS A HARD TIME MOVING SOUTH AND IS STILL
IN THE AREA WED AND WILL EXTEND POPS INTO WEDS. LITTLE CHANGE IN
TEMPS WILL TREND WED TEMPS DOWN A CLICK FROM TUES VALUES.

FCSTID =
GSP   70  93  70  93 /  50  30  30  30
AND   70  93  70  93 /  40  30  30  30
CLT   67  93  68  93 /  50  30  30  40
HKY   68  91  69  92 /  60  30  30  40
AVL   66  87  66  89 /  80  40  40  40

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

MCAVOY/NED

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 3, 6:39 PM EDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
639 PM EDT WED JUL 03 2002

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

625 PM     MECKLENBURG               SC   .75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   MECKLENBURG                    REPORTED BY SKYWARN
                                          SPOTTER.

MCAVOY

Local storm report, Jul 3, 6:43 PM EDT, 1 hour 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
643 PM EDT WED JUL 03 2002

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

620 PM     8 N SHELBY                NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   CLEVELAND                      SPOTTER REPORTS NUMEROUS
                                          TREES DOWN

DEO

Local storm report, Jul 3, 6:49 PM EDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
649 PM EDT WED JUL 03 2002

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

647 PM     FOUNTAIN INN              SC   .75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   GREENVILLE                     DIME HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SKYWARN SPOTTER.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 3, 7:06 PM EDT, 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
706 PM EDT WED JUL 03 2002

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

655 PM     BOILING SPRINGS           SC   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   SPARTANBURG                    PUBLIC REPORTED POSS.
                                          FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR
                                          INTERSECTION I26 & HWY 9.
                                          MODERATE DAMAGE TO HOUSE
                                          ROOF.

701 PM     GREENVILLE                SC   .75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   GREENVILLE                     DIME HAIL AT INTSCT OF
                                          PELHAM AND HUDSON RD. 15
                                          MPH WIND. SPOTTER REPORT.

702 PM     DONALDS                   SC   .88 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   ABBEVILLE                      DIME TO NICKEL HAIL IN
                                          DONALDS REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 3, 7:23 PM EDT, 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
723 PM EDT WED JUL 03 2002

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

715 PM     COUNTYWIDE                NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   CLEVELAND                      TREES DOWN ALL OVER
                                          COUNTY AND NUMEROUS BRUSH
                                          FIRES CAUSED BY
                                          LIGHTNING. REPORTED BY
                                          F.D.

720 PM     11 N LINCOLNTON           NC   .75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   LINCOLN                        DIME HAIL 11 N OF LINCOLN
                                          COUNTY COURTHOUSE.
                                          REPORTED BY SKYWARN
                                          SPOTTER.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 3, 7:51 PM EDT, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
751 PM EDT WED JUL 03 2002

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

740 PM     5 S FOREST CITY           NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   RUTHERFORD                     A FEW TREES ON HWY 120. 1
                                          VEHICLE HIT A FALLEN
                                          TREE. REPORTED BY
                                          RUTHERFORD EOC.

743 PM     WACO                      NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   CLEVELAND                      SEVERAL TREES ON OLD POST
                                          RD AND TOBE RIDGE RD.
                                          REPORTED BY SKYWARN
                                          SPOTTER.

LAMB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 2, 8:17 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	GSP	Avery	118 min
Jul 2, 8:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Davie	58 min
Jul 3, 5:48 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	57 min
Jul 3, 6:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cabarrus	57 min
Jul 3, 6:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	58 min
Jul 3, 6:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cleveland, Gaston	65 min
Jul 3, 7:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Lincoln	57 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2002 Every 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.