Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 7, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 17, 2002, 8:39 AM EST for Haywood County, Swain County, North Carolina. It was in force for 36 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
- Mar 17, 2002, 8:39 AM EST (13:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 17, 2002, 9:15 AM EST
- In force
- 36 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Haywood County, NC, Swain County, NC
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:39 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 9:00 AM EST | Thunderstorm Wind 50 E | Waynesville, NC | Several trees were blown down in and around Waynesville. Some were blown onto power lines, resulting in outages. |
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, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 266 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
- 278 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -109 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 514 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 158 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 188 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS52 KGSP 171339 SVRGSP NCC087-173-171415- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 839 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... HAYWOOD COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA NORTHEASTERN SWAIN COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 915 AM EST * AT 839 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 14 MILES NORTHWEST OF WAYNESVILLE...OR ABOUT 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF MAGGIE VALLEY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 50 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... MAGGIE VALLEY AT 845 AM EST. LAKE JUNALUSKA AT 850 AM EST. CLYDE AT 855 AM EST. SUNBURST AT 900 AM EST. CRUSO AT 905 AM EST. 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. $$ 07
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 Mar 17, 5:58 AM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 5:58 AM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 558 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002 ELEVATED CONVECTION CONTINUES TO TRUDGE EAST INTO ZONES WHERE THUNDER IS NOT CURRENTLY MENTIONED. EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO DECREASE IN INTENSITY AS IT MOVES INTO MORE STABLE AIR...BUT WILL GO AHEAD AND MENTION A CHANCE OF THUNDER IN ALL ZONES THIS MORNING. .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. LANE
In the hours before
Local storm report, Mar 17, 6:10 AM EST, 2 hours 29 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
610 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
605 AM JONESVILLE SC .75 INCH HAIL
03/17/02 UNION JONESVILLE FIRE DEPT
REPORTED DIME HAIL FOR
APRXLY 5 MINUTES...NOW
TAPERING OFF.
JONESSpecial weather statement, Mar 17, 6:46 AM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes before
NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-171700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 646 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002 ...SOME HEAVY RAIN TODAY AND TONIGHT - AND SOME FLOODING POSSIBLE BY TONIGHT... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN MOVING ACROSS PARTS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT. SOME LOCATIONS HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED HEAVY SHOWERS...BUT WITH DRY CONDITIONS AND LOW STREAM FLOW...IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME BEFORE HEAVY RAIN BECOMES A PROBLEM. THE SHOWERS AND STORMS EXTENDED WELL BACK TO THE WEST INTO EAST AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE. THERE ARE SOME INDICATIONS THAT STORMS WILL REPEAT OVER THE SAME PARTS OF THE MOUNTAINS AGAIN AND AGAIN TODAY...AND INTO TONIGHT. LATEST DATA SUGGEST THAT THE THREAT FOR THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS TONIGHT. DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH RAIN FALLS DURING THE DAY...THERE COULD BE A THREAT OF SOME FLOODING OR FLASH FLOODING BY TONIGHT. YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO UPDATED WEATHER FORECASTS TODAY. IT IS POSSIBLE A FLOOD WATCH COULD BE ISSUED TODAY FOR PARTS OF THE MOUNTAINS. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS ALREADY BEEN ISSUED BY THE MORRISTOWN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE...AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. JONES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 8:27 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Madison | 3 hr |
| Mar 17, 8:58 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Jackson | 47 min |
| Mar 17, 9:09 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Buncombe | 36 min |
Nearby
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.