Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Charleston, SC

May 6, 2003Berkeley County, Dorchester County, South Carolina

NWS Charleston, SC issued this tornado warning at May 6, 2003, 6:58 PM EDT for Berkeley County, Dorchester County, South Carolina. It was in force for 62 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 6, 2003, 6:58 PM EDT (22:58 UTC)
Expired
May 6, 2003, 8:00 PM EDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Berkeley County, SC, Dorchester County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:02 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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 6, 2:40 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 13 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 2003-05-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 870 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 2003-05-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 80 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
870 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-21 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
821 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
80 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
4.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KCHS 062258
TORCHS
SCC015-035-070000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
658 PM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BERKELEY COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA...
  DORCHESTER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA...

* UNTIL 800 PM EDT

* AT 658 PM EDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR SUMMERVILLE...OR
  ABOUT OVER SUMMERVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE...
  SANGAREE AND SUMMERVILLE...
  GOOSE CREEK...

TAKE COVER NOW IF YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY
BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING
SITUATION. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER
IMMEDIATELY

LAT...LON 3308 7979 3292 7989 3299 8003 3299 8011
          3302 8014 3299 8017 3294 8010 3295 8027
          3312 8024

$$

AUSTIN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 6, 5:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSBerkeley58 min
May 6, 6:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSColleton, Dorchester52 min
May 6, 6:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSDorchester33 min
May 6, 6:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSBerkeley58 min
May 6, 6:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSDorchester37 min
May 6, 7:03 PM EDTTornado WarningCHSCharleston27 min
May 6, 7:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSColleton63 min
May 6, 7:16 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningCHS59 min
May 6, 7:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSCharleston40 min
May 6, 7:45 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningCHS45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.