Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 2, 2002Rowan County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 2002, 10:28 PM EDT for Rowan County, North Carolina. It was in force for 47 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: May 2, 2002, 10:28 PM EDT (02:28 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 2002, 11:15 PM EDT
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Rowan County, NC

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 156 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:28 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
May 2, 10:45 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Cleveland, NC	Trees and powerlines were blown down near Mount Ulla.

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
May 2, 9:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 75 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: 566 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -86 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1419 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 152 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 3.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WUUS52 KGSP 030228
SVRGSP
NCC159-030315-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1028 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 1115 PM EDT

* AT 1026 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES SOUTH OF STATESVILLE...OR ABOUT 15 MILES
  WEST OF CLEVELAND...MOVING EAST AT 65 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  CLEVELAND AT 1035 PM EDT.
  WOODLEAF AT 1040 PM EDT.
  SALISBURY AT 1040 PM EDT.
  SPENCER AT 1045 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.

$$

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 May 2, 9:36 PM EDT, 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 9:36 PM EDT, 52 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
936 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

UPDATING FOR SVR TSTM WATCH 217...RAISING POP IN E.

FCSTID =
GSP   65  74  55  69 /  80  40  60  50
AND   64  76  56  70 /  70  40  60  50
CLT   65  73  54  69 /  80  30  60  50
HKY   61  69  51  66 /  80  30  60  40
AVL   54  65  47  63 / 100  30  60  50

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

TOMKO

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 2, 9:05 PM EDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
905 PM EDT THU MAY 02 2002

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

855 PM     JUPITER                   NC   WIND DAMAGE
05/02/02   BUNCOMBE                       QUITE A FEW TREES DOWN,
                                          HAIL UNKNOWN SIZE.

TJB

Local storm report, May 2, 9:11 PM EDT, 1 hour 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
911 PM EDT THU MAY 02 2002

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

835 PM     DICKS CREEK              NC   WIND DAMAGE
05/02/02   JACKSON                        NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER
                                          LINES DOWN IN COMMUNITY
                                          OF DICKS CREEK.
                                          ADDITIONAL TREES AND
                                          POWER LINES DOWN
                                          COUNTYWIDE

MOORE

Local storm report, May 2, 9:14 PM EDT, 1 hour 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
914 PM EDT THU MAY 02 2002

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

905 PM     SKYLAND                   NC   WIND DAMAGE
05/02/02   BUNCOMBE                       MULTIPLE TREES DOWN AT
                                          SKYLAND.

TJB

Local storm report, May 2, 9:57 PM EDT, 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
957 PM EDT THU MAY 02 2002

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

937 PM     LAKE LURE                 NC   WIND DAMAGE
05/02/02   RUTHERFORD                     TREES DOWN FROM LAKE LURE
                                          EAST ACROSS NORTHERN END
                                          OF COUNTY. REPORTED BY
                                          SHERIFF

921 PM     MARION                    NC   WIND DAMAGE
05/02/02   MCDOWELL                       POWER POLES DOWN ON N
                                          MAIN STREET IN MARION.
                                          TREES ALSO DOWN ALONG
                                          MONTFORD COVE ROAD S OF
                                          MARION. REPORTED BY
                                          COUNTY SHERIFF

MOORE

Special weather statement, May 2, 10:12 PM EDT, 16 minutes before

GAZ010-017-030300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1012 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATES A HEAVY THUNDERSTORM
MOVING INTO EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA THIS EVENING.  THE
THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE INTO HABERSHAM AND RABUN COUNTIES
WITHIN THE NEXT 20 MINUTES.  WHILE NO SEVERE WEATHER
HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL
FOR DIME SIZE HAIL AND WINDS GREATER THAN 60 MPH.

FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING WAS ALSO NOTED WITH THIS STORM.
PEOPLE SHOULD STAY INDOORS AS THIS STORM PASSES OVER THE
AREA AND MOVES INTO SOUTH CAROLINA.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST
INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.

DICARLO

Local storm report, May 2, 10:14 PM EDT, 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1014 PM EDT THU MAY 02 2002

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

905 PM     MILLS RIVER               NC   WIND DAMAGE
05/02/02   HENDERSON                      TREES DOWN IN MILLS RIVER

905 PM     ASHEVILLE AIRPORT TOWER   NC   59 MPH
05/02      BUNCOMBE                       TOWER REPORTED LLWS WIND
                                          GUST TO 51 KNOTS AT THE
                                          ASHEVILLE AIRPORT.

TJB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 2, 8:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Haywood	49 min
May 2, 8:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Buncombe, Henderson	38 min
May 2, 9:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	McDowell, Rutherford	44 min
May 2, 9:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cleveland	33 min
May 2, 9:47 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Catawba, Lincoln	43 min
May 2, 10:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Iredell	37 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.