Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 61, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 10, 2002, 6:20 PM EDT for Alexander County, Catawba County, North Carolina. It was in force for 40 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 10, 2002, 6:20 PM EDT (22:20 UTC)
- Expired
- May 10, 2002, 7:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 40 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Alexander County, NC, Catawba County, NC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:22 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 10, 6:50 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Claremont, NC |
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
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 121 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
- 16 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -244 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1126 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -57 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 9 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS52 KGSP 102220 SVRGSP NCC003-035-102300- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 620 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... SOUTHWESTERN ALEXANDER COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA EASTERN CATAWBA COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 700 PM EDT * AT 620 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF HICKORY...OR ABOUT 2 MILES NORTHEAST OF BETHLEHEM...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... ST. STEPHENS AT 625 PM EDT. CONOVER AT 645 PM EDT. CLAREMONT AT 655 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. $$ JDL/RB
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 10, 2:18 PM EDT, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 10, 2:18 PM EDT, 4 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 218 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 2002 FRONTAL BOUNDARY STRETCHED ACROSS S FCST AREA IS HELPING KEEP CONVECTION GOING THIS AFTN AND WILL CONT THIS EVE. SO FAR THERE HAVE BEEN NO SEVERE STORMS AND WITH INCREASED CLOUD COVER KEEPING TEMPS DOWN A BIT...SEVERE OCCURRENCE IS LESS LIKELY. STILL VERY MOIST...FAIRLY UNSTABLE AIR WITH CAPE FROM 600 TO 1800 ACROSS AREA AND LI AROUND -4. S PART OF CWA IS PRIMED FOR PSBL STRONGER STORMS. AS COLD FRONT PUSHES FURTHER S AND E...HIGH PRES BUILDS IN FROM N..FORMING A WEDGE-TYPE SITUATION OVER PIEDMONT/LOWER FOOTHILLS SATURDAY KEEPING TEMPS COOL. ON SAT NIGHT BOUNDARY PUSHES NORTH AND TEMPS WILL REBOUND ON SUN. THEN A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO PUSH BACK THROUGH AREA MON/MON NGT WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF SHWRS AND COOLER TEMPS BEHIND IT FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. FCSTID = 77 GSP 62 74 63 87 / 60 60 20 20 AND 63 75 64 88 / 60 60 20 20 CLT 61 72 62 87 / 60 60 20 20 HKY 59 69 62 85 / 60 50 20 20 AVL 55 69 55 79 / 60 50 20 20 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. RB
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 10, 2:50 PM EDT, 3 hours 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
250 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
230 PM GREAT FALLS SC 1.75 INCH HAIL
05/10/02 CHESTER QUARTER TO GOLF BALL SIZE
HAIL REPORTED BY GREAT
FALLS POLICE
PTLocal storm report, May 10, 5:58 PM EDT, 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
558 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
520 PM 5 SE MOCKSVILLE NC WIND DAMAGE
05/10/02 DAVIE TREES AND POWER LINES
DOWN. SEVERAL
OUTBUILDINGS AND SHEDS
BLOWN DOWN. REPORTED BY
COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS
CENTER.
MCAVOYNearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North 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.