Alert archive / South Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 65, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

July 9, 2003Oconee County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Jul 9, 2003, 7:47 PM EDT for Oconee 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
Jul 9, 2003, 7:47 PM EDT (23:47 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 2003, 10:45 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Oconee County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:46 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 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 203 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 12:00Z on 2003-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 195 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2003-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -5 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
195 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-137 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1170 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
6 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 092348
FFWGSP
SCC073-100245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
747 PM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN OCONEE COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1045 PM EDT

* AT 745 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY 
RAIN FALLING OVER EXTREME NORTHERN OCONEE COUNTY. RADAR ESTIMATES 
THAT UP TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN ALONG STATE ROUTES 130 AND 
107...JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE WALHALLA FISH HATCHERY. AS STRONG 
THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY OVER THIS AREA...AN 
ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE. 

* FLASH FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO QUICKLY DEVELOP WITHIN THE TOXAWAY 
RIVER BASIN WHERE THE HEAVIEST RAIN HAS FALLEN. CAMPERS AND HIKERS 
ALONG CREEKS IN THIS AREA SHOULD HEAD TO HIGHER GROUND NOW. IN 
ADDITION...ROCK AND MUD SLIDES WILL BE LIKELY.

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.

$$
NED/MCAVOY
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 100056
FFSGSP
SCC073-100245-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
855 PM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 1045 PM EDT FOR OCONEE
COUNTY...

AT 850 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE HEAVY 
RAIN FALLING ACROSS XTREME NORTHERN OCONEE COUNTY. RADAR ESTIMATES 
THAT IN EXCESS OF 6 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN THIS AREA.

WHILE NO REPORTS OF FLOODING HAVE YET BEEN RECEIVED...IT ALMOST 
CERTAIN THAT FLOODING WILL DEVELOP ALONG PARTS OF HOWARD CREEK AND 
LUMBERPOLE CREEK...JUST WEST OF LAKE JOCASSEE. MUD AND ROCK SLIDES 
WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE ALONG MOST ROADS IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE 
COUNTY BETWEEN LAKE JOCASSEE AND THE WALHALLA FISH HATCHERY.

CAMPERS ALONG STREAMS IN THIS AREA SHOULD MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND NOW.

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 Jul 9, 6:57 PM EDT, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 6:57 PM EDT, 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
657 PM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

UPDATED ZONES TO RAISE POPS ALONG AND AHEAD OF MCS IN THE NC
PIEDMONT AND FOOTHILLS. TWEAKS TO THE GRIDS...BUT NO OTHER CHANGES
TO THE ZONES.

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

MCAVOY
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 9, 6:27 AM EDT, 13 hours 20 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-091230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
627 AM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

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

.DAY ONE...

AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL ONCE AGAIN REACH INTO THE UPPER
90S ACROSS THE PIEDMONT WITH ONLY SMALL CHANCES OF LATE DAY
THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

A DAILY CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS STILL FORECAST FOR THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 9, 6:05 PM EDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
605 PM EDT WED JUL 09 2003

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

505 PM     NEWLAND                   NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/09/03   AVERY                          911 CENTER REPORTS WIND
                                          DAMAGE/TREES DOWN COUNTY
                                          WIDE.

TJB
Special weather statement, Jul 9, 6:22 PM EDT, 1 hour 25 minutes before
NCZ036-037-057-071-072-082-092330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
622 PM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EAST AT 30 MPH
ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT EARLY THIS EVENING. BY 625 PM...
THE STORMS WILL AFFECT THE INTERSTATE 77 CORRIDOR FROM CHARLOTTE
NORTH TO MOORESVILLE TO STATESVILLE. BY 650 PM...THE STORMS WILL
MOVE EAST...AFFECTING TOWNS FROM MONROE...NORTH TO CONCORD TO
MOCKSVILLE. THE STORMS WILL CONTAIN STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY
RAINFALL. SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE WINDS GREATER THAN 60 MPH AND HAIL
LARGER THAN PENNIES. WINDS FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY AFFECT
AREAS 10 TO 15 MILES AHEAD OF THE STORMS. BE ABLE TO SEEK SHELTER IF
THUNDERSTORMS THREATEN YOUR AREA.

NED
Local storm report, Jul 9, 6:34 PM EDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
634 PM EDT WED JUL 09 2003

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

600 PM     LENOIR                    NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/09/03   CALDWELL                       LENOIR PD REPORTED
                                          POWERLINES BLOWN DOWN IN
                                          LENOIR.

CORRECTED LENOIR SPELLING.
Local storm report, Jul 9, 7:01 PM EDT, 46 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
701 PM EDT WED JUL 09 2003

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

630 PM     7 SE TAYLORSVILLE         NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/09/03   ALEXANDER                      911 CENTER REPORTED TREES
                                          DOWN IN STONEY POINT AND
                                          ALSO AT STONEY POINT
                                          ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

620 PM     LONGVIEW                  NC   .88 INCH HAIL
07/09/03   CATAWBA                        SPOTTER REPORTED NICKEL
                                          TO PENNY HAIL IN LONGVIEW

625 PM     NW HICKORY                NC   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/09/03   CATAWBA                        SPOTTER REPORTED QUARTER
                                          SIZE HAIL AND WINDS
                                          ESTIMATED NEAR 50 MPH.

625 PM     5 NE HICKORY              NC   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/09/03   CATAWBA                        SPOTTER REPORTED QUARTER
                                          SIZE HAIL NEAR ST
                                          STEPHENS AREA.

CORRECTED FOR LONGVIEW.
Special weather statement, Jul 9, 7:05 PM EDT, 42 minutes before
NCZ036-037-057-092345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
705 PM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EAST AT 30 MPH ACROSS THE
NORTHERN NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT EARLY THIS EVENING. AT 705 PM...
THE STORMS WERE OVER MOCKSVILLE TO MOORESVILLE. BY 730 PM...THE
STORMS WILL MOVE EAST TO SALISBURY AND KANNAPOLIS. THESE STORMS WILL
CONTAIN FREQUENT LIGHTNING...PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...AND GUSTY
WINDS.

NED
Local storm report, Jul 9, 7:33 PM EDT, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
634 PM EDT WED JUL 09 2003

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

600 PM     LENOIR                    NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/09/03   CALDWELL                       LENOIR PD REPORTED
                                          POWERLINES BLOWN DOWN IN
                                          LENOIR.

CORRECTED LENOIR SPELLING.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 4:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCherokee58 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.