Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 14, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 19, 2003Anderson County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 19, 2003, 9:40 PM EST for Anderson County, South Carolina. It was in force for 65 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
Mar 19, 2003, 9:40 PM EST (02:40 UTC)
Expired
Mar 19, 2003, 10:45 PM EST
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Anderson County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:43 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Mar 19, 5:30 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 207 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 2003-03-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 753 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 00:00Z on 2003-03-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 168 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
753 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
467 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
71 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
215 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
2.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

790 
WUUS52 KGSP 200240
SVRGSP
SCC007-200345-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
940 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN ANDERSON COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1045 PM EST

* AT 940 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 15 MILES EAST OF HARTWELL...OR ABOUT OVER IVA...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  STARR AT 945 PM EST.
  HONEA PATH AT 1025 PM EST.
  WILLIAMSTON AT 1035 PM EST.

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 3437 8282 3422 8274 3448 8235 3466 8248

$$

NED

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 Mar 19, 3:00 PM EST, 6 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 19, 3:00 PM EST, 6 hours 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
300 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

LARGE UPPER LEVEL CLOSED LOW TO OPEN AND LIFT NE THURSDAY. COLD AIR
DAMMING TO CONTINUE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING...WITH ISENTROPIC
LIFT AND UPSLOPE COMPONENT TO PRODUCE EXCESIVE RAINFALL MUCH OF
AREA. BEST ISENTROPIC LIFT MOVES N OF AREA EARLY THU...BUT WITH
CONVECTION AROUND...FLOOD THREAT CONTINUES. WILL EXPAND FLOOD WATCH
TO ENTIRE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY. THREAT OF SEVERE CONTINUES THIS
EVENING IN S AND W ALONG PERIPHERY OF WEDGE...WHERE INSTABILITY
GREATEST...AND AGAIN THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT AS WEDGE ERRODES.

FRONT STALLS JUST E OF AREA FRI AS WAVE FORMS TO S. PRECIPITATION
EXPECTED TO EXPAND WESTWARD...BUT HOW FAR IS STILL IN QUESTION. WENT
WITH CHANCE POPS FRI...HIGHEST E...WITH THUNDER EVERYWHERE AS BAND
OF HIGH CAPES CROSS AREA. FRONT MOVES E AND AREA DRIES FRI NIGHT...
WHILE WEAK SECONDARY FRONT APPROACHES MTS.

SECOND FRONT REACHES MTS SAT...WITH LIMITED MOISTURE...CROSSING AREA
SUN. WAVE ON THIS FRONT TO MOVE E ALONG I-20 MON...AND WILL CARRY
POPS SUN NIGHT...DRYING FROM W MON. DRY RIDGE OVER AREA TUE/WED.

FCSTID =    7
GSP   53  64  54  72 /  80  80  80  40
AND   55  68  53  72 /  80  80  80  40
CLT   54  63  56  73 /  90  90  80  40
HKY   49  61  53  71 /  80  80  70  40
AVL   48  63  50  69 /  80  80  70  30

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

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.

FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR ZONES NCZ051...NCZ058...
NCZ062...NCZ066>067.

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

FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR ZONES SCZ001>007...
SCZ010>013...SCZ019.

O7
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 19, 2:55 PM EST, 6 hours 45 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-192145-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
255 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST
GEORGIA TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT...
POSSIBLY ACCOMPANIED BY TORNADOES ALONG THE BORDER OF NORTHEAST
GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND
NORTHEAST GEORGIA THURSDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE
THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

07

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 19, 9:17 PM EST, 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
917 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

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

910 PM     DEWEY ROSE                GA   .88 INCH HAIL
03/19/03   ELBERT                         ELBERT 911 RELAYED PUBLIC
                                          REPORT

JONES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 8:32 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningGSPAnderson, Pickens3 hr
Mar 19, 9:34 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningGSPGreenville, Spartanburg4 hr
Mar 20, 1:30 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningGSPGreenville, Spartanburg4 hr
Mar 20, 1:55 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningGSPOconee, Pickens3 hr
Mar 20, 1:59 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPOconee, Pickens46 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.