Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

February 22, 2003Buncombe County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Feb 22, 2003, 7:11 PM EST for Buncombe County, North Carolina. It was in force for 3 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
Feb 22, 2003, 7:11 PM EST (00:11 UTC)
Expired
Feb 22, 2003, 10:00 PM EST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Buncombe County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:08 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 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 243 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 2003-02-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 23 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 2003-02-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 333 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
23 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-224 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
569 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
92 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
333 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
344 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 KGSP 230017
FFWGSP
NCC021-230315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
711 PM EST SAT FEB 22 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  BUNCOMBE COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1015 PM EST

* AT 703 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SERIES OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH OVER BUNCOMBE
  COUNTY. COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS HAS ALREADY REPORTED FLOODING OF
  REEMS CREEK NEAR ROUTES 25 AND 70 WEST OF WEAVERVILLE.

* ADDITIONAL TORRENTIAL RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES WILL LIKELY WORSEN
  FLOODING PROBLEMS AROUND THE COUNTY. DANGEROUS FLOODING IN AND
  AROUND THE WEAVERVILLE AREA COULD DEVELOP SHORTLY.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE 
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

WHEN DRIVING ALONG ROADS WHERE THE TERRAIN IS STEEP OR ROCKY...REMAIN
ALERT FOR POSSIBLE ROCK OR MUD SLIDES DUE TO THE HEAVY RAIN.

$$
HG
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 230128
FFSGSP
NCC021-121-199-230315-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
820 PM EST SAT FEB 22 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 1000 PM EST FOR MITCHELL 
AND YANCEY COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA...
...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 1015 PM EST FOR BUNCOMBE 
COUNTY IN NORTH CAROLINA...

AT 820 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF 
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHING FROM HENDERSONVILLE TO BLACK 
MOUNTAIN TO BAKERSVILLE. THIS LINE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EASTWARD AT 
25 MPH. COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS CENTERS REPORT THAT FLOODING HAS 
ALREADY DEVELOPED IN THE 300 BLOCK OF WEAVERVILLE HIGHWAY IN 
BUNCOMBE COUNTY. FLOODING HAS ALSO IMPACTED THE 600 BLOCK OF 
MACEDONIA ROAD AND HOLLAND STREET IN ASHEVILLE...WITH SIGNIFICANT 
MUDSLIDES DEVELOPING ALONG NORTH CAROLINA ROUTE 63.

THE NORTH TOE AND NOLICHUCKY RIVERS CONTINUE TO RUN QUITE HIGH NEAR 
THE BORDER BETWEEN MITCHELL AND YANCEY COUNTIES. HIGHWAY 197 COULD 
BE AFFECTED IN THIS AREA.

ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAY REDEVELOP FROM THE 
SOUTHWEST INTO THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS OVER THE NEXT HOUR. 
STREAMS AND CREEKS IN THE AFFECTED AREA WILL LIKELY RUN QUITE HIGH 
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE 
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. USE CAUTION IN OR NEAR ANY SMALL 
CREEK TONIGHT...AND AVOID ROUTES THAT YOU KNOW ARE FLOOD PRONE.
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.
$$
HG

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 Feb 22, 6:56 PM EST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 6:56 PM EST, 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
656 PM EST SAT FEB 22 2003

ISSUING UPDATE TO EXTEND THE FLOOD WATCH TO ALL NC MTN COUNTIES AND
NE GA MTN COUNTIES. SEVERAL STREAMS ARE RUNNING QUITE FULL...AND
LATEST ROUND OF CONVECTION PROMISES TO TRAIN NWD FROM THE FRENCH
BROAD TO THE TOE AND NOLICHUCKY RIVERS. WILL ALSO TRIM ROWAN COUNTY
FROM THE DENSE FOG ADVISORY AS WARM FRONT HAS LIFTED JUST TO THE
NORTH. POPS HAVE BEEN RAISED ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA AS WELL.

FCSTID =   44
GSP   43  57  37  60 /  40  10  20  20
AND   44  59  36  61 /  40   0  20  20
CLT   45  60  37  59 /  40   0  20  20
HKY   41  54  35  55 /  50  10  20  20
AVL   40  50  33  55 /  50  10  20  20

.GSP...
GA...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MIDNIGHT FOR ZONES GAZ010...GAZ017.
     WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES ALL.
NC...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MIDNIGHT FOR ZONES
     NCZ033...NCZ048>053...NCZ058>059...NCZ062>065.
     WIND ADVISORY FOR LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY FOR ZONES
     NCZ033...NCZ048>050.
     WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES ALL ELSE.
     DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR THIS EVENING FOR ZONES
     NCZ034>037...NCZ054>056.
SC...WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES ALL.

BURRUS/HG
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 22, 6:19 AM EST, 12 hours 52 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-221300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
619 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT THE
WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. SOME OF THE STORMS WILL
LIKELY BE SEVERE...ESPECIALLY LATE THIS MORNING INTO THIS AFTERNOON.
HEAVY RAINFALL COULD ALSO PRODUCE ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING. WINDS
WILL REMAIN STRONG AFTER THE PRECIPIATION ENDS TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY
ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS. FOR MORE INFORMATION...SEE CAESPSGSP.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED BY EARLY AFTERNOON...
ESPECIALLY ALONG THE I-85 CORRIDOR.

LANE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 22, 5:12 PM EST, 1 hour 59 minutes before
GAZ010-017-NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-SCZ001>003-230015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
512 PM EST SAT FEB 22 2003

SCATTERED...STRONG...THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE
MOUNTAINS OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS...AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA...THROUGH
THE EVENING HOURS. THE STORMS WILL RACE NORTHEAST AT AROUND 50 MPH.
HAIL UP TO A HALF INCH IN DIAMETER...AND WINDS OF 40 TO 50
MPH...WILL ACCOMPANY THE STRONGER STORMS.

MCAVOY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 22, 7:06 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningGSPMitchell, Yancey3 hr
Feb 22, 8:55 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningGSPAvery3 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.