Alert archive / South Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 26, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 22, 2003Greenville County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at May 22, 2003, 4:45 AM EDT for Greenville County, South 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: May 22, 2003, 4:45 AM EDT (08:45 UTC)
Expired: May 22, 2003, 7:45 AM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Whole counties

County Greenville County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 14 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:48 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 259 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: 576 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 583 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 50 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 220846
FFWGSP
SCC045-221145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
445 AM EDT THU MAY 22 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  GREENVILLE COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 745 AM EDT

* AT 431 AM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED HEAVY   
RAIN OVER MUCH OF GREENVILLE COUNTY. MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN HAS BEEN 
FALLING MOST OF THE NIGHT. AUTOMATED GAGES INDICATE THAT AROUND 1.5 
INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN ACROSS DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE OVERNIGHT. 
WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE COUNTY 
FOR THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS...AND ANOTHER INCH OF RAIN IS EXPECTED BY 
SUNRISE.

* AT 433 AM...THE REEDY RIVER IN DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE WAS AT 7.15 
FEET AND RISING RAPIDLY. FLOOD STAGE IS 8 FEET....AND FLOODING OF 
CLEVELAND PARK WILL OCCUR AT THIS LEVEL. BRUSHY CREEK IN THE DEL 
NORTE AREA WAS AT 6.32 FEET AT 430 AM. AT THIS LEVEL...BOILING 
SPRINGS ROAD WILL BEGIN TO FLOOD. OTHER STREAMS AND CREEKS ACROSS 
GREENVILLE COUNTY...PARTICULARLY THE CENTRAL PART OF THE 
COUNTY...WILL BEGIN TO LEAVE THEIR BANKS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL 
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY
ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS AND OTHER 
LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLASH FLOODING.

$$
MCAVOY

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS72 KGSP 221033
FFSGSP
SCC045-221200-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
630 AM EDT THU MAY 22 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 745 AM EDT FOR GREENVILLE
COUNTY...

AT 625 AM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT MODERATE TO 
HEAVY RAIN CONTINUED OVER MUCH OF GREENVILLE COUNTY. AT 620 AM...THE 
REEDY RIVER AT CLEVELAND PARK WAS AT 8.43 FEET...FLOOD STAGE IS 8 
FEET. BRUSHY CREEK IN THE DEL NORTE AREA WAS AT 7.67 FEET. AT THIS 
STAGE BOILING SPRINGS ROAD WILL BEGIN TO FLOOD. OTHER STREAMS IN THE 
COUNTY ARE LIKELY OUT OF THEIR BANKS AS WELL.

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.

$$
MCAVOY

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 May 22, 2:40 AM EDT, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 2:40 AM EDT, 2 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
240 AM EDT THU MAY 22 2003

SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS STATIONARY FRONT ALONG A LINE FROM RWI TO CAE AND
MCN. IN OTHER WORDS...JUST S OF THE CWA. WEAK CAD IS TRYING TO WORK
INTO THE NRN MOST ZONES ATTM. MSAS SHOWS PRESSURE RISES ON THE E
SIDE OF THE MTNS AND PRESSURE FALLS OVER TN AND KY WHERE INVERTED
TROF IS DEVELOPING UNDER AND AREA OF GOOD UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE.
WATER VAPOR SHOWS THE BROAD LONG WAVE OVER THE ERN STATES GRADUALLY
SETTLING SOUTH...WITH ONE RATHER WELL DEFINE SHORT WAVE OVER THE
LOWER MS RIVER VALLEY.

ENTRANCE REGION OF STRENGTHENING UPPER TROPOSPHERIC JET WL SIT OVER
THE REGION TDA. THE JET SHIFTS JUST TO THE EAST OF THE REGION LATER
TNGT AND FRI AS THAT SHORT WAVE CROSSES THE REGION...W/RESULTANT SFC
WAVE DEVELOPING ALONG TMB...NEAR THE COAST. IT WL BE A CLOSE CALL ON
HEAVY RAIN LATE TNGT AND FRI...BUT HEAVY PCPN WL DEFINITELY OCCUR
OVER THE WRN CAROLINAS AND NE GA TDA... PARTICULARLY THE FOOTHILLS
AND ERN SLOPES WHERE ETA HAS GOOD LLVL AGEO FLOW DEVELOPING. IN
FACT...HEAVY RAIN IS ALREADY FILLING IN ACROSS THE CWFA. THE LLVL
ADJUSTMENT ON THE ETA TAKES THE SFC WINDS SE...EVEN THOUGH THE
PRESSURES ARE HIGHER ALONG THE ERN SLOPES. THAT IS AN INTERESTING
SIGNAL...BUT WL KEEP WINDS NE AS THE CAD SHOULD WIN OUT OVER THE
OTHER LLVL ADJUSTMENTS.

LOOKS LIKE A COUPLE INCHES OF RAIN WL BE POSSIBLE JUST N OF THE SFC
BNDRY THIS MORNING AND EARLY THIS AFTN...AND WL KEEP THE FFA FOR TDA
AND TNGT. NOT AS IMPRESSED W/THE FORCING OVERNIGHT AS THE
CONSOLIDATING SFC LOW WL PROBABLY RESULT IN DIMINISHED UPSLOPE AS
DEEP LAYER NE FLOW DEVELOPS ON THE NW QUAD OF THE LOW. HOWEVER...THE
CURRENT WATCH RUNS THROUGH TNGT...AND THERE IS A CHANCE THAT LLVL
FORCING COULD KEEP PCPN AROUND INTO THE EVENING...SO WL KEEP THE FFA
UP THROUGH TNGT.

LATER TNGT AND FRI MODELS TAKE THE LOW OVER THE SC LOW
COUNTY...W/ATTENDANT AREA UP UPGLIDE INDUCED PCPN MOST LIKELY
CONFINED TO THE MIDLANDS AND POINTS EAST. GFS IS STILL FASTER...BUT
BOTH MODELS KEEP US OUT OF THE AXIS OF HEAVIEST PCPN. CURRENT PCPN
GRADIENT OVER THE CWA -- LIKELY ERN ZONES TO LOW CHANCE POPS FAR W
-- LOOKS GOOD AND HAVE MADE ONLY MINOR CHANGES IN THE GRIDS TO MATCH
UP W/OTHER OFFICES.

EXTENDED...SURFACE RIDGE OVER AREA SUN WITH FRONT STALLED TO S.
ANOTHER COLD FRONT CROSSES AREA MON...MOVING SLOWLY OFFSHORE BY
TUE...AND STALLING TO S ON WED. MODELS TRY TO HOLD MARGINAL MOISTURE
OVER AREA MUCH OF EXTENDED PERIOD. MAIN CHANGE WAS TO TRY TO
CONSOLIDATE TIMING OF PRECIPITATION EPISODES TO MINIMIZE
FLUCTUATIONS...THOUGH THAT IS WHAT MAY OCCUR IF MODEL MOISTURE AND
FORCING MECHANISMS VERIFY. LITTLE CHANGE TO SKY/WIND/TEMPS.

THANKS TO CHS FOR ORGANIZING THE HYDRO CONFERENCE CALL THIS MORNING.

FCSTID =   14
GSP   67  59  71  57 / 100  70  50  20
AND   65  58  73  56 / 100  70  40  20
CLT   66  60  69  58 / 100  70  60  20
HKY   63  57  67  55 / 100  70  50  30
AVL   66  56  68  53 / 100  70  30  20

.GSP...
GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES GAZ010...
GAZ017>018...GAZ026...GAZ028>029.

NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ033>037...
NCZ048>059...NCZ062>072...NCZ082.

SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES SCZ001>014...SCZ019.

MCAVOY/07

Hazardous weather outlook, May 21, 5:55 AM EDT, 22 hours 50 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-211145-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
555 AM EDT WED MAY 21 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD FROM WEST TO EAST
ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. AS THE SHOWERS WILL BE SLOW MOVING...THE
POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SOME LOCALIZED FLOODING THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT. SEE OUR PRODUCT CAEESFGSP FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
THURSDAY...THURSDAY NIGHT AND INTO FRIDAY. EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL
BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE REGION...WITH THE BEST CHANCE EAST OF THE
MOUNTAINS...ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT OF THE WESTERN
CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN NEXT SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

MCAVOY

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in South Carolina, 2003 Every 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.