Alert archive / South Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 77, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

July 14, 2003Greenville County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Jul 14, 2003, 11:52 PM EDT for Greenville County, South Carolina. It was in force for 113 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
Jul 14, 2003, 11:52 PM EDT (03:52 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 2003, 1:45 AM EDT
In force
113 min
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 03:51 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, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 260 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 2003-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2167 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 2003-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 43 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2167 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1201 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
43 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS52 KGSP 150353
FFWGSP
SCC045-150545-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1152 PM EDT MON JUL 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 145 AM EDT

* AT 1150 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN COVERING MOST AREAS OF THE GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF HIGHWAY
  11. THE STORMS WERE DRIFTING SLOWLY TO THE SOUTH.

* THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AT GLASSY MOUNTAIN ESTIMATED AROUND            
  3 INCHES OF RAIN HAD FALLEN SINCE 9 PM...VERIFYING RADAR           
  ESTIMATES. RADAR ALSO SUGGESTED UP TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAD FALLEN 
  IN EXTREME NORTHWEST GREENVILLE COUNTY...WEST OF CLEVELAND 
  AND SLATER-MARIETTA...NEAR PINEY MOUNTAIN. STANDING WATER WAS   
  REPORTED ALONG HIGHWAY 11. STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL LIKELY COME OUT 
  OF THEIR BANKS...AND FLOOD ADDITIONAL ROADS. 

DO NOT EVER DRIVE YOUR CAR INTO AN AREA WHERE WATER COVERS THE 
ROADWAY. THE WATER MAY BE FLOWING FAST ENOUGH TO PICK YOUR VEHICLE 
UP AND CARRY IT DOWNSTREAM.

REPORT ANY FLOODING TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT...AND HAVE THEM
FORWARD THE REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

$$
BURRUS
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 150455
FFSGSP
SCC045-150545-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1255 AM EDT TUE JUL 15 2003

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 145 AM EDT FOR NORTHERN 
GREENVILLE COUNTY...

AT 1252 AM...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING 
SLOWLY SOUTHWARD THROUGH NORTHERN GREENVILLE COUNTY. THE HEAVIEST 
RAIN WAS NEAR TRAVELERS REST. RADAR TRENDS INDICATED THE STORMS 
WERE SLOWLY WEAKENING.

COUNTY OFFICIALS REPORTED NO FLOODING HAD YET OCCURRED IN NORTHERN 
GREENVILLE COUNTY. RADAR SUGGESTED AS MUCH AS 6 INCHES OF RAIN HAD 
FALLEN IN A SMALL AREA OF NORTHERN GREENVILLE COUNTY...WEST OF 
MARIETTA JUST ABOVE THE SOUTH SALUDA RIVER. STREAMS AND CREEKS IN 
THIS PART OF GREENVILLE COUNTY MAY RISE RAPIDLY TO BANKFULL AND 
FLOOD SOME ROADS AS THE EXCESSIVE RAINFALL FROM UPSTREAM FILTERS 
THROUGH IN THE NEXT HOUR. THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL REMAIN IN 
EFFECT THROUGH ITS DESIGNATED EXPIRATION TIME.
 
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 150551
FFSGSP
SCC045-150745-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
147 AM EDT TUE JUL 15 2003

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WHICH WAS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN 
GREENVILLE COUNTY HAS EXPIRED AS OF 145 AM EDT...

AT 145 AM...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A NARROW CLUSTER OF SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHING FROM TRAVELERS REST WEST TO THE PICKENS 
COUNTY LINE. THE STORMS WERE SAGGING SLOWLY TO THE SOUTH AND WEST.

COUNTY OFFICIALS REPORTED NO FLOODING IN NORTHERN GREENVILLE COUNTY
AS OF 145 AM WEST OF MARIETTA AND JUST NORTH OF THE SOUTH SALUDA 
RIVER...WHERE RADAR ESTIMATES THAT UP TO 6 INCHES OF RAIN HAD FALLEN 
SINCE LATE MONDAY EVENING. THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS 
BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

ALTHOUGH EXTREMELY HEAVY RAIN HAS ENDED...SOME ROADS MAY STILL HAVE 
STANDING WATER. LATE NIGHT MOTORISTS SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION. IF 
WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY...TURN AROUND AND FIND ANOTHER ROUTE TO 
REACH YOUR DESTINATION SAFELY.
$$

BURRUS

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 14, 10:10 PM EDT, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 10:10 PM EDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1010 PM EDT MON JUL 14 2003

WL HOLD OFF ON ZONE UPDATE FOR A LITTLE WHILE YET. CONVECTION
PERSISTS ACROSS THE SRN AND CENTRAL NC MTNS AND THE NRN PART OF THE
UPSTATE AND NE GA. WOULD EXPECT CONVECTION TO DIMINISH BY MIDNIGHT
WITH MID AND UPPER LEVELS BECOMING DRIER AND WARMER. HOWEVER...THERE
IS STILL A CONSIDERABLE POOL OF HIGH DWPTS IN THE LLVLS...AND IT
MIGHT TAKE A WHILE TO WIND THINGS DOWN IN THE LEE.

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

MCAVOY
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 14, 5:58 AM EDT, 17 hours 54 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-141200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
558 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP COULD PRODUCE
DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...LARGE HAIL...AND EXCESSIVE RAINFALL. FOR MORE
INFORMATION...SEE THE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK (SPSGSP) ISSUED AT 324
AM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EVERY DAY
THIS WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

MOORE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 15, 5:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPSpartanburg55 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.