Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 133, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 16, 2003Oconee County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 2003, 3:12 PM EDT for Oconee County, South Carolina. It was in force for 48 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 16, 2003, 3:12 PM EDT (19:12 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 2003, 4:00 PM EDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Oconee County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:12 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 190 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 2003-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 420 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 2003-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 38 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
420 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-40 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
708 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
99 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS52 KGSP 161912
SVRGSP
SCC073-162000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
312 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  OCONEE COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 400 PM EDT

* AT 312 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WALHALLA...OR ABOUT 6 MILES WEST
  OF WESTMINSTER...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  WESTMINSTER AT 330 PM EDT.
  OAKWAY AT 400 PM EDT.

PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY
RAIN CAN OCCUR WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM.

LAT...LON 3467 8330 3479 8321 3466 8286 3458 8289
          3448 8299 3461 8318 3462 8324

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 16, 2:56 PM EDT, 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 2:56 PM EDT, 16 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
256 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR KGSP 88D TRENDS THROUGH ZFP ISSUANCE TIME
FOR DEVELOPMENT OF DEEP CONVECTION...WHETHER ITS IN THE HIGHER CAPE
VALUES ACROSS THE UPSTATE/NE GA...IN THE IMMEDIATE LEE WHERE ETA
HAS PROGGED LLVL CONVERGENCE MAX...OR JUST MOVING INTO THE NC MTNS
FROM DEVELOPMENT ACRS THE TENN VALLEY. FOR THE TIME BEING...PLAN
CHC POPS FOR TSTMS ALL AREAS INTO THIS EVENING. LATER TONIGHT...EVEN
WITH LARGE SCALE STABILIZATION OF ATMOSPHERE...WILL KEEP CHC POPS
FOR SHOWERS OVERNIGHT AS DEEPER RH AND WEAK VORT AXIS ROTATES EAST
INTO THE CWFA.

ON SATURDAY...STABLE AIR WILL BEGIN TO APRCH THE CWFA FROM THE NORTH
AS HYBRID DAMMING REGIME DEVELOPS. PLAN ON CONFINING TSTM CHCS ALONG
PERIPHERY OF DEVELOPING SFC WEDGE...ROUGHLY ALONG ETA DEPICTION OF
POSITIVE CAPE AREA AND SPC DAY 2 GNRL RISK. STARTING SATURDAY NIGHT
...CWFA TO REMAIN UNDER PERSISTENT CAD WITH BEST MOISTURE AND LIFT
...MAINLY FROM SOUTHERLY UPGLIDE FLOW ABOVE WEDGE LAYER...ACRS
SW ZONES...HENCE BEST POPS...WITH AN UPPER LIMIT IN THE HIGH CHC
RANGE AND HIGHEST QPF IN THIS AREA. PROBABLY WILL SEE DAMMING
REGIME CONTINUE RIGHT INTO TUESDAY UNTIL COLD FRONT APRCHS ON
WEDNESDAY WHERE CHC OF THUNDER REMAINS. PATTERN LOOKS LESS AMPLIFIED
THAN WHAT OBSERVED YESTERDAY FOR DAYS 6-7...AS AFOREMENTIONED COLD
FRONT MAY WIND UP JUST LAYING OVER ACRS THE REGION FOR THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY.

FCSTID = 55
GSP   61  75  59  70 /  40  60  50  50
AND   61  75  59  70 /  40  60  50  50
CLT   60  72  57  68 /  40  50  50  50
HKY   59  71  55  65 /  40  50  50  50
AVL   57  70  56  68 /  40  60  50  50

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

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 16, 11:52 AM EDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-162000-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1152 AM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

...ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND
NORTHEAST GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

THE ATMOSPHERE WILL REMAIN MOIST AND UNSTABLE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY.
A WEAK TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON
IN THE LEE OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS. THIS TROUGH COULD PROVIDE A
FOCUS FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT LATER THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. IF STORMS DO DEVELOP...THEY WILL BE CAPABLE
OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.

IN ADDITION...A COMPLEX OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY MOVE
OUT OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION...AND INTO THE WESTERN CAROLINAS
AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA THIS EVENING. ALTHOUGH THESE STORMS ARE LIKELY
TO BE WEAKENING AS THEY MOVE INTO THE AREA...A FEW DAMAGING WIND
GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE...MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA
MOUNTAINS...NORTHEAST GEORGIA...AND WESTERN UPSTATE SOUTH
CAROLINA.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR
THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER
SITUATION.

LANE
Local storm report, May 16, 2:42 PM EDT, 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
242 PM EDT FRI MAY 16 2003

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

615 PM     3 N SALISBURY             NC   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   ROWAN                          STORM SPOTTER REPORTED
                                          DIME TO QUARTER SIZED
                                          HAIL BETWEEN 6 AND 630
                                          PM.

OUTLAW/LANE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 8:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPYork55 min
May 16, 7:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenville64 min
May 16, 7:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPSpartanburg64 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 2003Every severe thunderstorm 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.