Alert archive / South Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 8, NWS Charleston, SC

May 17, 2003Hampton County, South Carolina; Screven County, Georgia

NWS Charleston, SC issued this flash flood warning at May 17, 2003, 4:48 PM EDT for Hampton County, South Carolina; Screven County, Georgia. It was in force for 87 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 17, 2003, 4:48 PM EDT (20:48 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2003, 6:15 PM EDT
In force
87 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Screven County, GA, Hampton County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:51 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 131 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2003-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1582 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2003-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1582 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
483 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS52 KCHS 172050
FFWCHS
GAC251-SCC049-172215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
448 PM EDT SAT MAY 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SCREVEN COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST GEORGIA...
  HAMPTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA...

* UNTIL 615 PM EDT.

* AT 448 PM EDT...RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAIN OCCURRING ALONG A
  LINE EXTENDING FROM 4 MILES EAST OF LENA TO SHIRLEY TO 6 MILES WEST
  OF CAPTOLO. THE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING THE HEAVY RAIN ARE MOVING  
  LITTLE.

RADAR ESTIMATES OF 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN IN AN HOURS TIME WILL 
RESULT IN MODERATE TO MAJOR FLOODING PROBLEMS ACROSS PARTS OF 
SCREVEN AND HAMPTON COUNTIES.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY
FOR HIGHER GROUND. MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.

A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM.

LAT...LON 3284 8104 3260 8126 3262 8139 3257 8165
          3268 8182 3279 8160 3296 8164 3273 8141
          3277 8128 3290 8122

$$

PM
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS72 KCHS 172218
FFSCHS
GAC251-172230-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
617 PM EDT SAT MAY 17 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR SOUTHERN SCREVEN COUNTY HAS BEEN
ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...

ALTHOUGH DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES OF OVER 6 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN 
IN THE NEWINGTON AREA...THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPORTS OF FLOODING FROM 
SCREVEN COUNTY...AND RADAR INDICATES THAT THE HEAVIEST RAINS ARE 
ENDING. THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO 
EXPIRE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE LOCAL MEDIA FOR ADDITIONAL
SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. REPORT ANY FLOODING OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY
FLOODING TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS AND ASK THEM TO
IMMEDIATELY RELAY THE REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
CHARLESTON.

$$

PM
000 
WGUS72 KCHS 172222 CCA
FFSCHS
GAC251-SCC049-172230-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
617 PM EDT SAT MAY 17 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR SCREVEN COUNTY AND HAMPTON COUNTY HAS 
BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...

ALTHOUGH DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES OF OVER 6 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN 
IN THE NEWINGTON AREA...THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPORTS OF FLOODING FROM 
SCREVEN COUNTY. THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN NO FLOODING REPORTS FROM 
HAMPTON COUNTY...ALTHOUGH RADAR ESTIMATES OF 4 INCHES IN THE 
SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY WERE INDICATED. RADAR ALSO IS SHOWING 
THAT THE HEAVIEST RAINS ARE FINALLY ENDING. THEREFORE...THE FLASH 
FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE LOCAL MEDIA FOR ADDITIONAL
SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. REPORT ANY FLOODING OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY
FLOODING TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS AND ASK THEM TO
IMMEDIATELY RELAY THE REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
CHARLESTON.

$$

PM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 9:34 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningCHS56 min
May 17, 3:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSBeaufort, Hampton, Jasper43 min
May 17, 3:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSHampton39 min
May 17, 4:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSScreven49 min
May 17, 5:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSScreven45 min
May 17, 6:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSJenkins50 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in South Carolina, 2003Flash Flood Warnings in Georgia, 2003Every flash flood 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.