Alert archive / South Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 57, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

June 19, 2003Anderson County, Pickens County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Jun 19, 2003, 2:17 AM EDT for Anderson County, Pickens 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
Jun 19, 2003, 2:17 AM EDT (06:17 UTC)
Expired
Jun 19, 2003, 5:15 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

Counties Anderson County, SC, Pickens County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:17 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, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 224 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 2003-06-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 524 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 2003-06-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 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
524 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
942 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS52 KGSP 190620
FFWGSP
SCC007-077-190915-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
217 AM EDT THU JUN 19 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS EXTENDED  
A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN ANDERSON COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA
  SOUTHEASTERN PICKENS COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 515 AM EDT

* AT 215 AM...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME
  WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...CONTINUING ACROSS NORTHERN ANDERSON         
  COUNTY...AND EXTREME SOUTHERN PICKENS COUNTY NEAR THE ANDERSON     
  COUNTY LINE. RADAR HAS ESTIMATED BETWEEN 4 AND 6 INCHES OF RAIN
  HAS FALLEN SINCE LATE WEDNESDAY EVENING WITHIN THE WARNING AREA.
  THE SHOWERS AND STORMS WERE MOVING ONLY VERY SLOWLY TO THE
  EAST...AND COULD PRODUCE ANOTHER INCH OF RAIN BEFORE ENDING.

* MAJOR FLASH FLOODING WAS ONGOING ACROSS THE WARNING AREA. MANY
  ROADS WERE CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING OF CREEKS IN AND AROUND
  PENDLETON...AND IN THE VICINITY OF EASLEY. A BRIDGE WAS BEING
  CLOSELY MONITORED ON POPE FIELD ROAD...FOR FEAR THAT THE CREEK
  IT CROSSED WOULD WASH OUT THE BRIDGE. ADDITIONAL FLOODING 
  IS LIKELY ACROSS SOUTHERN PICKENS...AND NORTHERN 
  COUNTIES...BEFORE PRECIPITATION ENDS. TOWNS THAT COULD BE AFFECTED
  ALSO INCLUDE PICKENSVILLE...POWDERSVILLE...AND FIVE FORKS.

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.

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.

TO REPORT FLOODING HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY RELAY YOUR
REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN
GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG.

$$
BURRUS
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 190824
FFSGSP
SCC007-077-190915-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
422 AM EDT THU JUN 19 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 515 AM EDT FOR NORTHERN 
ANDERSON...AND SOUTHEASTERN PICKENS COUNTIES...

AT 420 AM...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED NO PRECIPITATION WITHIN THE WARNING 
AREA...BUT DID SHOW A DEVELOPING LINE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS FROM 
JUST NORTH OF CLEMSON...WEST AND SOUTH THROUGH 
WALHALLA...WESTMINSTER AND TOCCOA. THESE SHOWERS COULD SPREAD OVER 
THE FLOOD WARNING AREA LATER...EXACERBATING ONGOING FLOODING.

IN ANDERSON COUNTY...SEVERAL ROADS REMAINED CLOSED BY SWOLLEN 
CREEKS. IN PENDLETON...EAST QUEEN...SOUTH ELM...AND CHERRY STREETS 
WERE ALL CLOSED...AND WATER FROM CHERRY STREET HAD BACKED UP INTO 
THE WEBB CEMETERY. HAMLIN ROAD WAS ALSO CLOSED. BISHOP BRANCH CREEK 
HAD CLOSED REFUGE ROAD...AND PART OF HIGHWAY 178 WAS CLOSED NEAR 
MCMURPHY ROAD NEAR ITS INTERSECTION WITH BISHOP BRANCH.

FLOODING HAD ALSO STRETCHED TO NORTHEAST ANDERSON COUNTY. A LONG 
STRETCH OF HIGHWAY 81 WAS CLOSED NEAR POWDERSVILLE FROM LEE 
ROAD...TO WREN SCHOOL ROAD. WATSON ROAD OFF HIGHWAY 81 WAS CLOSED 
DUE TO FLOOD WATER...AND SLABTOWN ROAD WAS CLOSED NEAR HIGHWAY 88.

IN PICKENS COUNTY...SLOW IMPROVEMENT HAD BEEN NOTED BY COUNTY 
OFFICIALS. WATER LEVELS WERE SLOWLY RECEDING IN THE VICINITY OF POPE 
FIELD ROAD...AND A BRIDGE THAT WAS IN DANGER OF WASHING OUT HAD 
REPORTEDLY HELD.

WHILE IMPROVEMENT IN NORTHERN ANDERSON...AND SOUTHEAST 
PICKENS...COUNTIES SHOULD OCCUR THROUGH 515 AM...WATER LEVELS 
COULD EXPERIENCE A SPIKE UPWARD IF THE SHOWERS AND STORMS IN 
EASTERN OCONEE...AND EXTREME WESTERN PICKENS...COUNTIES SHIFT 
EAST AND SOUTHEAST INTO THE FLOOD WARNING AREAS.

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.

$$
BURRUS
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 190927
FFSGSP
SCC077-191015-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
527 AM EDT THU JUN 19 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WHICH WAS IN EFFECT FOR PICKENS COUNTY HAS
EXPIRED AS OF 515 AM EDT...

THE HEAVY RAIN HAS ENDED OVER THE WARNED AREA. STREAMS AND CREEKS IN
THE WARNED AREA HAVE RECEDED OR WERE BEGINNING TO RECEDE...ENDING THE
FLASH FLOOD THREAT. EVEN THOUGH STREAMS AND CREEKS WERE 
RECEDING...SOME ROADWAYS STILL MAY BE COVERED WITH WATER. MOTORISTS 
ARE ADVISED TO AVOID DRIVING THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS.

COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY NEW 
REPORTS OF FLOODING OR PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH FLOODING IN THE 
AFFECTED AREA OF SOUTHEAST PICKENS COUNTY.  

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS 
CONCERNING THIS EVENT.

$$

SBK

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 18, 10:20 PM EDT, 3 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 10:20 PM EDT, 3 hours 57 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1020 PM EDT WED JUN 18 2003

SATELLITE W/V SHOWING S/W PASSING THROUGH THE FA. STILL POCKETS OF
ENERGY UPSTREAM AND WILL EXPECT SH/ISO TS OVERNIGHT. ALTHOUGH DRIER
AIR HAS WORKED IN OVER H5...PWS ON 0Z FFC SHOWING STILL MEASURING
>1.7. WILL TAKE POPS DOWN FROM CATE TO LIKELY AND WILL DECREASE TS
TO ISO. WILL KEEP GOING FFA AS COVERAGE IS EXPECTED TO
DECREASE...BUT AS SHOWING CURRENTLY ON 88D SH AND TS WILL TEND TO
TRAIN.

UPDATED TO DECREASE CATE POPS TO LIKELY...TWEAK TEMPS AND ADD FOG.

FCSTID =   16
GSP   69  85  67  84 /  70  50  50  10
AND   69  86  68  85 /  70  50  50  10
CLT   69  85  68  84 /  70  70  50  10
HKY   66  82  65  81 /  70  60  60  10
AVL   63  80  63  79 /  60  50  50  10

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

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

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

NED
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 18, 5:50 AM EDT, 20 hours 27 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-181145-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
550 AM EDT WED JUN 18 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF THE REGION AGAIN
TODAY. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS
AND THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS. SEE OUR PRODUCT CAEFFAGSP FOR DETAILS.
THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WILL BE FREQUENT
LIGHTNING AND TORRENTIAL RAIN. HOWEVER...A THUNDERSTORM WITH AN
ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUST CANNOT BE RULED OUT LATE THIS AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

MORE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY. ISOLATED LARGE HAIL
AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE...WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND
HEAVY RAIN THE MORE PROMINENT THREAT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE
AGAIN NEXT THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT...PRIMARILY TO REPORT FLOODING AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS.

MCAVOY

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 19, 2:06 AM EDT, 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
206 AM EDT THU JUN 19 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1230 AM    PENDLETON                 SC   FLASH FLOOD
06/19/03   ANDERSON                       COUNTY 911 REPORTS
                                          NUMEROUS
                                          STREETS...BRIDGES...AND
                                          STRUCTURES FLOODED. A CAR
                                          WAS WASHED OFF THE
                                          ROAD...MOTORIST WAS
                                          RESCUED. HWY 8...81...AND
                                          178 HAS TREES
                                          DOWN...ASSUMED BY HEAVY
                                          RAIN. TIME ESTIMATED AS
                                          EVENT HAS BEEN PROLONGED.

1230 AM    EASLEY                    SC   FLASH FLOOD
06/19/03   PICKENS                        POPE FIELD ROAD BRIDGE
                                          FLOODED. HWY 8 SOUTH IS
                                          COVERED BY 8 INCHES OF
                                          WATER. TIME ESTIMATED.

NED

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 18, 11:24 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPAnderson, Pickens3 hr
Jun 19, 3:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPChester, Union59 min
Jun 19, 3:27 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPChester48 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in South 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.