Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 79, NWS Columbia, SC

May 16, 2003Bamberg County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 2003, 5:25 PM EDT for Bamberg County, South Carolina. It was in force for 35 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 16, 2003, 5:25 PM EDT (21:25 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2003, 6:00 PM EDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Bamberg County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:28 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 105 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: 1150 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 629 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 72 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 77 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

461 
WUUS52 KCAE 162125
SVRCAE
SCC009-162200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
524 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
    BAMBERG COUNTY IN CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 600 PM EDT.

* AT 524 PM EDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM BETWEEN OLAR
  AND EHRHARDT...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  EHRHARDT.
  RIVERS BRIDGE STATE PARK.   

THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND STRONG DAMGING WINDS. 

LAT...LON 3335 8114 3322 8129 3293 8099 3311 8078

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 Columbia, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 16, 2:21 PM EDT, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 2:21 PM EDT, 3 hours 4 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
221 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

THE SURFACE TROUGH THAT CURRENTLY EXTENDS THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA
AND THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM THIS MORNING/S THUNDERSTORMS ARE
HELPING TO CAUSE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. MODERATE INSTABILITY
AND FAVORABLE WET-BULB ZERO HEIGHTS SUPPORT A POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE APPROACHING
BACKDOOR FRONT AND H5 SHORTWAVE TROUGH LATE SUPPORT KEEPING POPS
OVERNIGHT. CHANCE POPS MAY BE HIGH ENOUGH BECAUSE BOTH THE ETA AND
GFS FORECAST RISING H5 HEIGHTS AND BECAUSE OF THE DIURNAL TIMING.

EXPECT LITTLE UPPER-LEVEL SUPPORT SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. BOTH THE
ETA AND GFS SHOW THE H5 LOW CURRENTLY OVER OKLAHOMA SLOWING AND
SINKING SOUTHWARD BEFORE REACHING THE FORECAST AREA. H5 RIDGING
APPEARS TO DOMINATE HERE. HOWEVER...ISENTROPIC LIFT OR THE WEDGE
FRONT IN THE AREA SHOULD CAUSE SCATTERED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS.

PLAN TO CUT THE GUIDANCE HIGH TEMPERATURES BECAUSE OF WEDGING. ALSO
PLAN TO LEAN TOWARD THE LOWER GUIDANCE POPS SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
NIGHT BECAUSE H85 WARM ADVECTION APPEARS WEAK AND BECAUSE OF THE H5
RIDGING.

EXTENDED...PLAN TO FORECAST CHANCE POPS THROUGH THE PERIOD. THE GFS
SHOWS A CONTINUED WEDGE PATTERN EARLY THEN A COLD FRONT MOVING INTO
THE AREA WEDNESDAY AND STALLING. WILL CONTINUE THE SAME TEMPERATURE
FORECAST WHICH IS BELOW THE ENSEMBLE MEAN EARLY BECAUSE OF THE WEDGE
PATTERN...AND NEAR THE MEAN THE REST OF THE PERIOD.

FCSTID =    5
CAE   68  79  67  76 /  40  50  40  50
AGS   67  83  66  79 /  40  50  40  50
SSC   67  79  65  75 /  40  50  40  50
OGB   68  81  67  77 /  40  50  40  50

.CAE...
GA...NONE.
SC...NONE.

RJL

Hazardous weather outlook, May 16, 7:58 AM EDT, 9 hours 27 minutes before

GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-161200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
500 AM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

CORRECTED FOR DATE...
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...

PATCHY DENSE FOG EARLY THIS MORNING OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER
IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

RCC

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 16, 1:57 PM EDT, 3 hours 28 minutes before

SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-GAZ040-063>065-
077-161957-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
157 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ACROSS THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER
AREA SOUTH AND EAST OF AUGUSTA...ACROSS AIKEN...LEXINGTON ...BAMBERG
AND ORANGEBURG COUNTIES. THE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT
15 MPH. THE STRONGER STORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL TO ONE HALF INCH AND
WIND GUST TO 40 MPH.

Special weather statement, May 16, 2:41 PM EDT, 2 hours 44 minutes before

SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-GAZ040-063>065-
077-162041-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
241 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED EAST OF A LINE FROM AUGUSTA TO
LEXINGTON. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 15 MILES PER
HOUR. THE STRONGER STORMS WILL PRODUCE HAIL ONE HALF OF AN INCH OR
LESS...WINDS TO 45 MILES PER HOUR...RAINFALL AMOUNTS NEAR ONE INCH
AS THEY PASS.

THE STORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO CALHOUN...RICHLAND...KERSHAW
...FAIRFIELD...CLARENDON AND SUMTER COUNTIES BETWEEN 3 PM AND  4 PM.

Special weather statement, May 16, 3:29 PM EDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before

SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-GAZ040-063>065-
077-162129-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
329 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 6 PM ACROSS THE
AREA...GENERALLY EAST OF A AUGUSTA TO LEXINGTON LINE. THE STRONGER
STORMS WILL PRODUCE HAIL TO ONE HALF INCH...WIND GUSTS TO 45 MILES
PER HOUR AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS AROUND 1 INCH IN AN HOUR AS THEY MOVE
TO THE NORTHEAST AT 15 MILES PER HOUR.

THE STORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO SOUTHERN KERSHAW...SUMTER...LEE AND
CLARENDON COUNTIES BETWEEN 330 PM AND 5 PM.

Local storm report, May 16, 4:59 PM EDT, 26 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA, SC
459 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

446 PM     3 ESE BRANCHVILLE         SC   .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/03   ORANGEBURG                     ORANGEBURG EMA REPORTED
                                          DIME-SIZE HAIL NEAR
                                          BRANCHVILLE.

RJL

Local storm report, May 16, 5:02 PM EDT, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA, SC
502 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

434 PM     COLUMBIA                  SC   .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/03   RICHLAND                       PUBLIC REPORT OF
                                          DIME-SIZE HAIL ON TAYLOR
                                          STREET IN DOWNTOWN
                                          COLUMBIA.

RJL

Special weather statement, May 16, 5:15 PM EDT, 10 minutes before

SCZ035-036-041-162300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
515 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH OF ORANGEBURG UNTIL 7 PM...
AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS COVERED BARNWELL...BAMBERG AND
ORANGEBURG COUNTIES. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED ON SOUTH
CAROLINA HIGHWAY 64 BETWEEN BARNWELL...OLAR AND EHRHARDT. SOME OF
THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...HAIL ONE HALF
INCH OR LESS AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. THESE STORMS WILL BE IN THE
AREA UNTIL 7 MPH.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS FOR
LATER INFORMATION.

TTH

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 15, 9:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Chesterfield, Lancaster	47 min
May 15, 9:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Chesterfield	47 min
May 16, 3:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Orangeburg	48 min
May 16, 4:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Richland	30 min
May 16, 4:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Orangeburg	35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

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.