Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 42, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

June 16, 2003Catawba County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Jun 16, 2003, 4:54 PM EDT for Catawba County, North Carolina. It was in force for 96 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 16, 2003, 4:54 PM EDT (20:54 UTC)
Expired
Jun 16, 2003, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
96 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Catawba County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:57 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, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 127 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 12:00Z on 2003-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 541 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2003-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 41 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
541 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
499 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS52 KGSP 162101
FFWGSP
NCC035-162300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
454 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CATAWBA COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 700 PM EDT

* AT 454 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE
  OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH ACROSS CATAWBA
  COUNTY...PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AT THE RATE OF 1 TO 2
  INCHES PER HOUR. AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR TWO OF RAIN WILL BE
  POSSIBLE WITH THIS LINE THROUGH 6 PM.

* FLOODING WILL LIKELY DEVELOP ALONG FALLING CREEK...SNOW
  CREEK...AND LONG SHOAL CREEK IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE
  COUNTY. LIKELY TO BE IMPACTED BY THE FLOODING IS SULPHUR SPRINGS
  ROAD NEAR SAINT STEPHENS. ABUNDANT STANDING WATER WILL ALSO LIKELY
  DEVELOP IN LOW SPOTS IN ROADWAYS ACROSS THE AREA.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. 
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY. 
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE 
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS 
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY 
AUTOMOBILE. EVEN MODERN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES CANNOT BE SAFELY 
DRIVEN THROUGH FLOOD WATERS.

$$
HG
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 162140
FFSGSP
NCC003-035-097-162230-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
539 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 630 PM EDT FOR IREDELL...
ALEXANDER AND CATAWBA COUNTIES...

DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR CONTINUES TO INDICATE RAINFALL RATES UP TO ONE 
HALF INCH AN HOUR IN A AREA BOUND BY STONEY POINT TO STATESVILLE TO 
TROUTMAN AND BETHLEHEM.  THIS AREA IS MOVING VERY SLOWLY EAST AND 
WILL CAUSE MORE FLOODING ACROSS THE COUNTIES.

STREAMS ARE AT BANKFULL OR OVERFLOWING INTO ROADWAYS NOW. COUNTY 
OFFICIALS REPORTED FLOODING ON HIGHWWAYS 70 AND 90... AND ON BRISTOL 
ROAD IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE COUNTY...IMPEDING TRAFFIC.  COUNTY 
OFFICIALS REPORTED WATER COVERING SPRINGS ROAD AND SAINT PETERS CHURCH 
ROAD ALSO IMPEDING TRAFFIC. 

DURING HEAVY RAIN EVENTS...SEVERE URBAN FLOODING CAN OCCUR IN AREAS 
SUCH AS UNDERPASSES...AND LOW AREAS WHERE WATER TENDS TO COLLECT. 
CHILDREN SHOULD BE KEPT AWAY FROM SMALL STREAMS AND STORM DRAINS.

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.

$$

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 Jun 16, 3:20 PM EDT, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 16, 3:20 PM EDT, 1 hour 34 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
320 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

SURFACE FRONT HAS PUSHED INTO THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE FORECAST
AREA THIS AFTERNOON. LOW CLOUDS HAVE BEEN VERY SLOW TO ERODE IN THE
NC PIEDMONT TODAY...KEEPING THE AREA MORE STABLE THAN SC/GA AND THE
WRN MOUNTAINS. CONVECTION HAS DEVELOPED IN THE MORE UNSTABLE AREAS
AND THIS SHOULD STEADILY SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE AREA THIS
EVENING...WITH THE STALLING SFC BOUNDARY REMAINING A FOCUS FOR
CONVECTION OVERNIGHT. PER COORDINATION WITH ADJACENT OFFICES...WILL
MAINTAIN THE EXISTING FLOOD WATCH FOR MUCH OF NORTH CAROLINA
TONIGHT. WILL LEAVE IT TO THE MID SHIFT TO ASSESS THE NEED FOR
EXTENSION INTO TUESDAY. ISOLATED FLOODING PROBLEMS COULD DEVELOP
OUTSIDE THE WATCH AREA FARTHER SW...BUT DEGREE OF TRAINING AWAY FROM
THE SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL BE VERY HARD TO ASSESS AND IS PROBABLY NOT
WORTH A WATCH AT PRESENT.

SFC BOUNDARY IS FORECAST TO REMAIN OVER THE NE THIRD OF THE FORECAST
AREA THROUGH TOMORROW WITH THE MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THE
BOUNDARY SLOWLY LIFTS BACK NORTH THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WILL GENERALLY
GO SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN GUIDANCE ON MAXES AND KEEP A SMALL DIURNAL
TEMP RANGE. DEEPER MOISTURE SHOWS UP IN TIME HEIGHTS AGAIN WED WITH
DEEP SW FLOW BUT LESS TRIGGERING AROUND. WILL OPT FOR SOLID CHC POPS
WED AFTN.

STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST ON THU WITH HIGHEST
EXTENDED RANGE POPS FEATURED FOR THU NIGHT. MODEL DISCREPANCIES THEN
BEGIN TO SHOW UP. THE GFS HAS BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT THE PAST THREE
RUNS WITH HANGING UP THE FRONT ACROSS THE SRN EDGE OF AREA WITH
RETURN FLOW MOISTURE BY SAT. GFS ALSO FEATURES TROUGH AXIS TO THE
WEST OVER THE MS VALLEY. WILL LEAN TOWARD ECM SOLUTION OF PLAINS
RIDGING AND MUCH LATER RETURN OF A WEAKER FRONT FOR LATE WEEKEND AND
RETURN TO DIURNAL AFTN CONVECTION.

FCSTID =   33
GSP   69  82  69  82 /  70  60  60  50
AND   69  84  69  83 /  60  60  60  50
CLT   69  81  69  82 /  70  70  70  50
HKY   67  77  67  79 /  80  70  70  50
AVL   65  77  64  78 /  70  70  70  50

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ033>037...NCZ048>050...
NCZ053>057...NCZ065>072...NCZ082.
SC...NONE.

HG
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 16, 6:22 AM EDT, 10 hours 32 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-161200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
622 AM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT
AS IT MOVES SOUTH ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS.
ALONG AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE FRONT...THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL TEND TO
REFORM OVER THE SAME AREAS. THIS WILL RESULT IN LOCALIZED VERY HEAVY
RAIN ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY. ON TUESDAY THE THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE HEAVY RAIN...WITH
A BETTER CHANCE OF DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL ON WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT TO
REPORT SEVERE WEATHER AS WELL AS TO MONITOR STREAM LEVELS AND REPORT
RAINFALL TOTALS.

MCAVOY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 16, 2:04 PM EDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before
NCZ053-065-161900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
204 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATES SIGNIFICANT THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING ACROSS BUNCOMBE AND HENDERSON COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA.

BUNCOMBE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS REPORTED MARBLE SIZED
HAIL WITH THE STORMS IN THE AREA.  STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAIN
AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING ALSO CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS AS
THEY MOVE THROUGH THE AREA DURING THE NEXT HOUR.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST
INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.

DICARLO

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 15, 10:52 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPBurke3 hr
Jun 15, 11:25 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPCleveland2 hr
Jun 15, 11:33 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPMcDowell2 hr
Jun 16, 4:35 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPAlexander115 min
Jun 16, 4:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPAlexander, Catawba17 min
Jun 16, 4:44 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPIredell106 min
Jun 16, 5:09 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPBurke, Caldwell2 hr
Jun 16, 5:18 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPRowan117 min
Jun 16, 5:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPIredell10 min
Jun 16, 5:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPIredell, Rowan31 min
Jun 16, 5:39 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPLincoln2 hr
Jun 16, 5:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCabarrus30 min
Jun 16, 5:47 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPCabarrus118 min
Jun 16, 6:05 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPDavie115 min
Jun 16, 6:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPMecklenburg2 hr
Jun 16, 6:55 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPAvery2 hr
Jun 16, 7:08 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPIredell, Rowan112 min

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.