Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 271
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 9, 2002, 7:00 PM EDT for 13 counties in North Carolina; 11 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 9, 2002, 7:00 PM EDT (23:00 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 2002, 11:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 24 counties
Cabarrus County, NC, Catawba County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Iredell County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Union County, NC, Abbeville County, SC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Union County, SC, York County, SC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:01 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.
Warnings issued inside it
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 200 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
- 450 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -89 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 977 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 113 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 143 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 092240 SEL1 SPC WW 092237 NCZ000-SCZ000-100300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 271 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 637 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA WESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 700 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT. HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES SOUTH OF SPARTANBURG SOUTH CAROLINA TO 65 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF HICKORY NORTH CAROLINA. REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 269...WW 270... DISCUSSION...LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS INTENSIFYING ALONG EAST EDGE OF MOUNTAINS OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS. THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE EASTWARD FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS INTO MOIST/UNSTABLE AIRMASS. DAMAGING WINDS APPEAR TO BE THE MAIN THREAT. AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035. ...HART 360,0792 340,0810 340,0825 360,0811 WWUS20 KWNS 092240 SEL1 SPC WW 092237 NCZ000-SCZ000-100300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 271 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 637 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA WESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 700 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT. HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES SOUTH OF SPARTANBURG SOUTH CAROLINA TO 65 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF HICKORY NORTH CAROLINA. REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 269...WW 270... DISCUSSION...LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS INTENSIFYING ALONG EAST EDGE OF MOUNTAINS OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS. THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE EASTWARD FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS INTO MOIST/UNSTABLE AIRMASS. DAMAGING WINDS APPEAR TO BE THE MAIN THREAT. AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035. ...HART 360,0792 340,0810 340,0825 360,0811
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 11:30 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee and 16 more | 6 hr |
| May 9, 6:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Caswell, Forsyth, Granville, Person, Rockingham, Stokes and 3 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Carolina, 2002Severe Thunderstorm Watches in South Carolina, 2002Every severe thunderstorm watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.