Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003
Flash Flood Warning 118, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Aug 12, 2003, 2:39 PM EDT for Henderson County, North Carolina. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 12, 2003, 2:39 PM EDT (18:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 12, 2003, 4:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Henderson County, NC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:43 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
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 247 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
- 1698 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -13 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 677 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 5 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 21 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WGUS52 KGSP 121844 FFWGSP NCC089-122045- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 239 PM EDT TUE AUG 12 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... NORTHERN HENDERSON COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 445 PM EDT * AT 233 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A NEARLY STATIONARY THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL JUST WEST OF MILLS RIVER IN NORTHERN HENDERSON COUNTY. RADAR INDICATES THAT THIS THUNDERSTORM HAS ALREADY PRODUCED 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL...AND AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR TWO IS POSSIBLE BEFORE THE THUNDERSTORM DISSIPATES. * STREAMS AND CREEKS FEEDING MILLS RIVER ARE LIKELY TO FLOOD. ROADS AND TRIBUTARIES WEST OF THE TOWN OF MILLS RIVER ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED. DEEP STANDING WATER WILL ALSO LIKELY DEVELOP IN ANY LOW SPOTS. 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. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. EVEN MODERN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES CANNOT BE SAFELY DRIVEN THROUGH FLOOD WATERS. $$ HG
2 follow-up statements
000 WGUS72 KGSP 121935 FFSGSP NCC089-122100- FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 335 PM EDT TUE AUG 12 2003 ...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 445 PM EDT FOR NORTHERN HENDERSON COUNTY... A NEARLY STATIONARY SMALL THUNDERSTORM HAS BEEN OVER THE SAME AREA...JUST NORTH OF THE NORTH MILLS RIVER STATE PARK FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF...DUMPING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER A SMALL AREA. RADAR HAS ESTIMATED RAINFALL RATES OF ABOUT 2 INCHES PER HOUR...WITH TOTAL RAINFALL BETWEEN 3 AND 4 INCHES SINCE 2 PM. THIS SHOULD BE ENOUGH RAIN IN A SHORT TIME TO CAUSE FLASH FLOODING ALONG CREEKS AND STREAMS IN THE AREA. CREEKS MOST LIKELY AFFECTED INCLUDED FLETCHER CREEK...WASH CREEK...AND THE ROCKY FORK AND NORTH FORK OF MILLS RIVER. OTHER SMALL STREAMS IN THE SAME GENERAL AREA WILL LIKELY HAVE FLASH FLOODING. HEAVY RAINFALL IN THE MOUNTAINS FROM SLOW-MOVING OR STATIONARY THUNDERSTORMS MAY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING MILES DOWNSTREAM. PEOPLE IN THE WARNED AREA...ESPECIALLY CAMPERS...SHOULD MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND NOW...DO NOT DELAY. WATER MAY RISE TOO QUICKLY FOR YOU TO GET OUT OF DANGER LATER. $$ JONES
000 WGUS72 KGSP 122046 FFSGSP NCC089-122100- FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 445 PM EDT TUE AUG 12 2003 ...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WHICH WAS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN HENDERSON COUNTY HAS EXPIRED AS OF 445 PM EDT... THE HEAVY RAIN HAS ENDED OVER THE WARNED AREA. SOME ROADWAYS STILL MAY BE COVERED WITH WATER. MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO AVOID DRIVING THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS. DO NOT BECOME A FATALITY DO NOT CROSS FLOODED ROADS...THE ROAD COULD BE WASHED OUT FROM THE FLOW OF THE WATER...AND YOUR CAR COULD BE SWEPT AWAY BY THE SWIFTLY MOVING WATER. $$ LANE
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Aug 12, 2:36 PM EDT, 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 2:36 PM EDT, 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 236 PM EDT TUE AUG 12 2003 LATEST WV LOOP SHOWING MOISTURE STREAMING FROM THE GULF OVER NE GA AND THE WESTERN CAROLINAS. 88D SHOWING CONVECTION FIRING OVER THE MTNS AND BEGINNING OVER THE UPSTATE. AS H5 LOW SIDES TO THE WESTERN GULF COAST A GENERAL EAST/UPSLOPE WIND WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. BELIEVE THAT THIS FLOW WILL BRING SEA BREEZE MOISTURE INTO THE FA AFTER MIDNIGHT AND WILL PROLONG NIGHTTIME SH AND TS. IN ADDITION...REGIONAL OBS HAVE DISPLAYED HZ SINCE MORNING FOG HAS MIXED OUT. WITH DWPTS IN THE U60S TO L70S AND SFC HZ WILL EXPECT FOG TO DEVELOP TONIGHT. WED...ATLANTIC RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE FA LIMITING CONVECTION SOMEWHAT. BUT WITH ANOTHER DAY OF L80S OVER L70S WILL EXPECT INSTABILITY TO INCREASE TO 2K J/KG IN THE AFTERNOON. CONDITIONS WILL LINGER FOR THURSDAY...TEMPS SHOULD BE A LITTLE WARMER. WILL FOLLOW A MOS CONSENSUS ON POPS...GENERALLY U20-L30%. INTERESTING TO SEE ETA AND GFS AGREE ON THE TROPICAL WAVE PASSING BETWEEN S FL AND N CUBA WED NIGHT. THIS SYSTEM WILL VERY LITTLE IMPACT ON THE FA...CIRRUS RIDING OVER LOW CLOUDS. FRI...H5 RIDGE SLIDES WEST OVER THE MIDDLE OF THE CONUS...AT THE SURFACE HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL. IN FACT... WITH TEMPS IN THE 90S AND DWPTS AROUND 70...HEAT INDEXES ARE EXPECTED TO REACH M90S TO 100 OVER THE SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY FOR THE REST OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. WITH THE BL REMAINING MOIST AND VERY WARM WILL EXPECT PARCELS TO PASS BY ANY WARM NOSE. WILL FAVOR THE HIGHER TERRAIN FOR CHC POPS FROM FRI - TUE. WILL COMPROMISE BETWEEN PREVIOUS PACKAGE AND HPC GUIDANCE. PERFECT PROG AWIPS GFS FORECAST SOUNDINGS CAPES RANGE FROM 3K-4K J/KG FRI AND SAT. FCSTID = 16 GSP 68 84 69 87 / 50 30 30 30 AND 69 85 70 87 / 40 30 30 30 CLT 69 84 70 88 / 40 30 30 30 HKY 66 82 68 86 / 40 30 30 30 AVL 64 79 64 83 / 50 30 30 30 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. NED
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 12, 6:29 AM EDT, 8 hours 10 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-121230- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 629 AM EDT TUE AUG 12 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS MAY CAUSE LOCAL FLOODING IN POORLY DRAINED AND URBAN AREAS. THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE VERY SLOWLY AND CAN PRODUCE UP TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SCATTERED SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCAL FLOODING WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. DICARLO
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 10:29 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Polk | 2 hr |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in North Carolina, 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.