Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 13, 20024 counties in North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 13, 2002, 3:04 PM EDT for 4 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 56 min. 3 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 13, 2002, 3:04 PM EDT (19:04 UTC)
Expired: May 13, 2002, 4:00 PM EDT
In force: 56 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

Counties Graham County, NC, Jackson County, NC, Macon County, NC, Swain County, NC

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:08 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 13, 3:15 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Countywide, NC	Trees and powerlines were blown down.
May 13, 3:22 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Bryson City, NC	Numerous trees were blown down along Highway 19.
May 13, 3:30 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Highlands, NC	Trees and powerlines 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 13, 3:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 236 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: 397 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -44 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 694 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 73 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 80 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS52 KGSP 131904
SVRGSP
NCC075-099-113-173-132000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
303 PM EDT MON MAY 13 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SWAIN COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
  GRAHAM COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
  MACON COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
  JACKSON COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 400 PM EDT

* AT 303 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 11 MILES NORTH OF BRYSON CITY TO 11 MILES
  SOUTH OF ROBBINSVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  BRYSON CITY AT 310 PM EDT.
  NANTAHALA LAKE AT 315 PM EDT.
  SYLVA AT 330 PM EDT.
  CULLOWHEE AT 335 PM EDT.

PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE
ALERT FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN CAN OCCUR WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM.

$$

RWH/BPM

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 13, 2:45 PM EDT, 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 2:45 PM EDT, 19 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
245 PM EDT MON MAY 13 2002

HAVE UPDATED ZONES FOR NEW WATCH. RAISED POP ALL ZONES.

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

RWH

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 13, 10:56 AM EDT, 4 hours 8 minutes before

NCZ048-131800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1056 AM EDT MON MAY 13 2002

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS DEVELOPED OVER NORTHERN MADISON
COUNTY THIS MORNING...PRODUCING A LITTLE OVER AN INCH OF
RAIN DURING THE PAST HOUR.  MORE HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER THE COUNTY THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON.

MORE RAIN MAY PPRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING OVER MADISON COUNTY
CAUSE A MAJOR THREAT TO MOTORISTS IN THE MORE MOUNTAINOUS
AREAS.  IF YOU ARE PLANNING A TRIP...PLEASE REMEMBER TO
AVOID WATER CROSSING A ROAD.

DICARLO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 13, 3:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Haywood, Madison	54 min
May 13, 3:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Henderson	47 min
May 13, 4:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cleveland, Rutherford	41 min
May 13, 4:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Polk	30 min
May 13, 4:51 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Catawba, Iredell	39 min
May 13, 5:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Lincoln	43 min
May 13, 5:08 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Gaston	37 min
May 13, 5:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cleveland	32 min
May 13, 5:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Davie, Iredell, Rowan	49 min
May 13, 5:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	46 min
May 13, 5:38 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cabarrus	52 min
May 13, 5:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Gaston	48 min
May 13, 6:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	46 min
May 13, 6:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Rowan	29 min
May 13, 6:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Union	55 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.