Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 55, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 9, 2002, 7:03 PM EDT for Anderson County, South Carolina; Elbert County, Hart County, Georgia. It was in force for 27 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
- May 9, 2002, 7:03 PM EDT (23:03 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 2002, 7:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 27 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Elbert County, GA, Hart County, GA, Anderson County, SC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:06 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 9, 7:09 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 E | Elberton, GA | Some trees and powerlines were blown down. |
| May 9, 7:10 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 E | Hartwell, 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, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 189 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
- 45 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -315 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 929 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 123 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS52 KGSP 092303 SVRGSP GAC105-147-SCC007-092330- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 703 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... SOUTHEASTERN HART COUNTY IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA SOUTH CENTRAL ANDERSON COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 730 PM EDT * AT 701 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HARTWELL...OR ABOUT OVER NUBERG...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... STARR AT 710 PM EDT. IVA AT 715 PM EDT. THIS STORM HAS PRODUCED WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE IN HART COUNTY. WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS CAN REACH SPEEDS OF 60 TO 100 MPH. THESE WINDS BLOW DOWN TREES...POWER LINES...AND SEVERELY DAMAGE MOBILE HOMES AND SOMETIMES BUILDINGS. VERY LARGE OR WIND-DRIVEN HAIL CAN INJURE ANYONE CAUGHT OUTSIDE. $$ LANE
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 9, 5:15 PM EDT, 1 hour 48 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 9, 5:15 PM EDT, 1 hour 48 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 515 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 WL UPDATE ZONES TO REMOVE SVR TSTM WATCH. WL ALSO GO LIKELY POPS IN THE NE GA ZONES AND THE SRN PART OF THE UPSTATE AS THIS IS THE ONLY AREA WHICH HAS NOT MIXED OUT THIS AFTN...AND TSRA LOOK LIKE THEY WL SURVIVE THEIR TRIP ACROSS THE SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY. .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. MCAVOY
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 9, 5:33 PM EDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
GAZ018-026-028-029-SCZ010-011-092230- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 533 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE... AT 535 PM EDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST GEORGIA. THE LINE WILL MOVE EAST AT 35 MPH...AND AFFECT AREAS FROM CLARKESVILLE TO TOCCOA AND CARNESVILLE BY 615 PM. THIS WILL ALSO INCLUDE MUCH OF LAKE HARTWELL. WINDS OF 40 MPH...TORRENTIAL RAIN...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL WILL ACCOMPANY THE LINE. IF THE STORMS CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN...THEY MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. MCAVOY
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 6:41 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Greenville, Spartanburg | 49 min |
| May 9, 7:12 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Abbeville | 33 min |
| May 9, 7:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cherokee | 38 min |
| May 9, 7:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Abbeville, Greenwood | 41 min |
| May 9, 6:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Franklin | 11 min |
| May 9, 6:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Hart | 25 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 2002Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.