Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 276, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 14, 2002, 4:25 PM EDT for Elbert County, Franklin County, Hart County, Georgia. It was in force for 65 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
- Sep 14, 2002, 4:25 PM EDT (20:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 14, 2002, 5:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 65 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Elbert County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Hart County, GA
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 4:55 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 E | Carnesville, GA | A few trees were blown down. |
| Sep 14, 5:20 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 E | Elberton, GA | Some trees were blown down. |
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, 8.4 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -148 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 891 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 52 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 150 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
395 WUUS52 KGSP 142025 SVRGSP GAC105-119-147-142130- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 425 PM EDT SAT SEP 14 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... FRANKLIN COUNTY IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA HART COUNTY IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA ELBERT COUNTY IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA * UNTIL 530 PM EDT * AT 425 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH DAMAGING WINDS 11 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ELBERTON... MOVING NORTH AT 35 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... ELBERTON AT 435 PM EDT. DEWY ROSE AT 440 PM EDT. BOWMAN AT 445 PM EDT. NUBERG AT 450 PM EDT. ROYSTON AT 455 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. $$ RAB/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 Sep 14, 2:45 PM EDT, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 14, 2:45 PM EDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 245 PM EDT SAT SEP 14 2002 HANNA IS SLOWLY MOVING INLAND NOW OVER SW AL. LATEST HPC TRACK IS A LITTLE FARTHER WEST THAN PREVIOUS...ALONG THE E SLOPES OF THE APPALACHIANS. THIS IS CLOSER TO THE ETA/GFS...THOUGH THEY BOTH TAKE THE SFC LOW JUST W OF THE MTNS SUN. EITHER WAY...IT LOOKS LIKE WE WL SEE QUITE A BIT OF RAIN FROM THE SYSTEM. THE GFS GENERATES ABOUT 2 AND THE ETA APPROACHES 4 OVER THE ERN ESCARPMENT. THIS SEEMS REASONABLE. AS RAH SAID IN THEIR DISCO...THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY KIND OF SIGNIFICANT TMB OR SFC TROUGH ALONG WHICH PCPN WL FOCUS...WHICH SHOULD MAKE THE MTNS THE MAIN DRIVER (WHICH SHOWS UP WELL ON THE ETA 304 K SFC). ORIENTATION OF PCPN ATTM SEEMS TO REFLECT THIS WITH AN E TO W ARRANGEMENT THAT GENERALLY INCREASES AS IT MOVES INTO THE UPSLOPE AREAS. THUS...EXPECT THE HEAVIEST RAIN TO SETUP ALONG AND JUST E OF THE ESCARPMENT TONIGHT...PARTICULARLY AREAS WITH A S TO SE EXPOSURE. LOCALLY AMOUNTS COULD EASILY EXCEED 4 IN THE ESCARPMENT. LLVL FLOW IS A LITTLE WEAK FOR SUPERCELLS...AND WITH THE LOW COMING BY MORE AS AN OPEN WAVE...BACKING WL NOT BE AS GOOD AS I WOULD LIKE. STILL...CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED TORNADO AS WE WILL BE IN THE FAVORED NE QUAD...AND WL ISSUE AN SPS TO ADDRESS THIS CONCERN. PCPN SHOULD TAPER OFF MOST AREAS BY LATE AFTN W/FLOW BECOMING DOWNSLOPE. SFC FRONT HANGS UP OVER THE CENTRAL CWA MONDAY ON THE ETA...AND MAKES IT JUST S OF THE CWA ON THE GFS. WL KEEP SCT CONVECTION THROUGH THE DAY...AND THEN DRY US OUT TUE AND AVN THEN HAS THE FRONT WELL THROUGH THE REGION. FRONT RETURNS N WED...AND WL NOW HAVE POPS IN THE EXTENDED WED THROUGH SAT. FCSTID = 14 GSP 67 80 67 84 / 100 100 40 30 AND 67 81 67 86 / 100 100 40 30 CLT 67 78 67 84 / 100 100 40 30 HKY 66 76 66 83 / 100 100 40 30 AVL 64 75 63 80 / 100 100 40 30 .GSP... GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY FOR ZONES GAZ010...GAZ017>018...GAZ026...GAZ028>029. NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY FOR ZONES NCZ033>037...NCZ048>059...NCZ062>072...NCZ082. SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY FOR ZONES SCZ001>014...SCZ019. MCAVOY
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 14, 3:27 PM EDT, 58 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-150300- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 327 PM EDT SAT SEP 14 2002 ...ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE TONIGHT... THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM HANNA WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA...APPROACHING THE GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA BORDER BY MORNING. BANDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL PUSH AHEAD OF THE LOW PRESSURE AREA...INTO EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN CAROLINAS THROUGH THE NIGHT TONIGHT. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED IN THESE RAIN BANDS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND PERHAPS AN ISOLATED...BRIEF TORNADO. A FLOOD WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIS THREAT...PLEASE REFER THE APPROPRIATE FLOOD PRODUCTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OFFICIALS ARE REQUESTED TO MONITOR THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER AND MAKE PRELIMINARY PLANS TO DEAL WITH SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD IT OCCUR. HANDEL
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 4:57 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Habersham | 48 min |
| Sep 14, 5:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Stephens | 52 min |
| Sep 14, 5:27 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Habersham, Rabun | 63 min |
| Sep 14, 5:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Rabun | 59 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 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.