Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 217, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

July 4, 2002Cherokee County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 2002, 6:36 PM EDT for Cherokee County, South Carolina. It was in force for 54 min. 4 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: Jul 4, 2002, 6:36 PM EDT (22:36 UTC)
Expired: Jul 4, 2002, 7:30 PM EDT
In force: 54 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Cherokee County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:35 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 4, 6:40 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Gaffney, SC	Numerous trees and large limbs were blown down. A railroad crossing gate was also damaged. 5000 residents were without power.
Jul 4, 6:40 PM EDT	Hail 1	Gaffney, SC
Jul 4, 7:00 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Gaffney, SC	The roof of a convenience store received some damage.
Jul 4, 7:17 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Gaffney, SC	Several trees were blown down on Elm St. A billboard was also blown down in the downtown 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 nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 282 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: 132 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -165 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1342 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 1 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 31 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.

699 
WUUS52 KGSP 042236
SVRGSP
SCC021-042330-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
635 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CHEROKEE COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT

* AT 635 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A         
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS 2 MILES     
  NORTHEAST OF GAFFNEY...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 10 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  GAFFNEY AT 645 PM EDT.
  THICKETTY AT 700 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.

$$
07

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 4, 2:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 2:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 6 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
230 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

DEEP RIDGE CONTINUES TO THE N OF THE CWFA. A NE-SW ORIENTED COLD
TROF...UNDER THE RIDGE...REMAINS SITUATED OVER THE CWFA. THE UPPER
TROF HAS MOVED JUST A LITTLE BIT FARTHER TO THE SOUTH. THIS HAS
PLACED THE AXIS OF THE BEST SURFACE CONVERGENCE...AND SFC MOISTURE
FLUX DIV...A LITTLE FARTHER S TDA AS WELL. WHILE FOR THE PAST THREE
DAYS THIS AXIS WAS CENTERED OVER THE MTNS...TDA IT RUNS FROM GSO TO
GLT TO GRD.

ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO BE VERY UNSTABLE. THE LATEST GOES SOUNDER
DATA SHOWS THAT LI/S ARE RUNNING -7 TO -8 OVER THE ERN HALF OF THE
CWA...W/MICROBURST POTENTIAL RUNNING BETWEEN 50 AND 60 KTS.

WOULD EXPECT THAT CONVECTION WOULD BE MOST NUMEROUS OVER THE ERN CWA
THIS EVENING. HOWEVER...WL MAKE FINAL POP DECISION SHORTLY BEFORE
ZONES GO OUT.

ETA INDICATES THAT H5 TEMPS WARM QUITE A BIT BY FRI AFTN. FOR MOST
OF THE DAY...THE BEST SFC CONVERGENCE WL BE EVEN FARTHER S THAN TDA.
HOWEVER...AFTER ABOUT 21Z...PRESSURES FALL OVER THE ERN CWA W/BEST
SFC CONVERGENCE SETTING UP OVER THE I-85 CORRIDOR AGAIN AHEAD OF
APPROACHING BACK DOOR FRONT. THUS...CONVECTION SHOULD GET OFF TO A
LATER START TMRW...BUT THERE SHOULD BE SCT TSRA ACROSS MOST OF THE
CWFA BY LATE AFTN.

WL KEEP POPS IN THE UPSTATE SAT...BUT REMOVE THEM FROM THE REST OF
THE CWA AS SFC FRONT WL BE THROUGH MOST OF THE REGION.

EXTENDED FEATURES UPPER TROUGH OVER EASTERN USA. SURFACE RIDGE
EXITING E COAST MON/TUE. COLD FRONT MOVES S INTO AREA WED...THEN S
OF AREA THU...WHERE IT STALLS. HAVE CHANCE DIURNAL CONVECTION
MON/TUE...THEN RUN POPS THROUGH WED NIGHT WITH FRONTAL PASSAGE. LEFT
POPS IN THU/FRI AS MOISTURE LINGERS...AND UPSLOPE COMPONENT POSSIBLE
IN NE FLOW BEHIND FRONT. TEMPERATURES COOLER WED WITH CLOUDS
INCREASING...THEN MODERATING THU WITH LESS CLOUD.

FCSTID =
GSP   68  94  70  88 /  40  30  30  30
AND   68  94  70  88 /  40  30  30  30
CLT   68  94  70  88 /  50  30  30  30
HKY   66  92  68  85 /  40  40  30  20
AVL   61  87  64  81 /  50  40  30  20

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

MCAVOY/07

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 4, 2:33 PM EDT, 4 hours 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
233 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

220 PM     3 N HARRISBURG            NC   .88 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   MECKLENBURG                    SKYWARN SPOTTER REPORTED
                                          NICKEL HAIL ON HWY 49.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 2:33 PM EDT, 4 hours 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED COUNTY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
233 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

220 PM     3 N HARRISBURG            NC   .88 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   CABARRUS                       SKYWARN SPOTTER REPORTED
                                          NICKEL HAIL ON HWY 49.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 3:43 PM EDT, 2 hours 53 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
343 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

320 PM     MATTHEWS                  NC   .75 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   MECKLENBURG                    SKYWARN HAM REPORTED DIME
                                          SIZE HAIL FOR SEVERAL
                                          MINUTES.

330 PM     CHARLOTTE                 NC   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   MECKLENBURG                    WSOC REPORTED QUARTER
                                          SIZE HAIL AND ESTIMATED
                                          GUST OVER 60 MPH IN SOUTH
                                          CHARLOTTE.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 4:40 PM EDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
440 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

415 PM     MARSHALL                  NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   MADISON                        SEVERAL TREES DOWN AT
                                          INTSCN OF HWY 19 AND MAIN
                                          ST. REPORT BY DEPUTY.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 4:53 PM EDT, 1 hour 43 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
453 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

335 PM     WEDDINGTON                NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   UNION                          NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN
                                          WEDDINGTON AND W UNION
                                          COUNTY. ALSO NICKEL SIZE
                                          HAIL. REPORTED BY UNION
                                          EOC.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 5:56 PM EDT, 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
556 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

552 PM     5 N MOCKSVILLE            NC   .88 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   DAVIE                          DIME AND NICKEL SIZE HAIL
                                          REPORTED BY TRAINED
                                          SPOTTER.

LAMB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 3, 8:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Greenville	60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South 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.