Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 15, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 20, 2003, 1:59 AM EST for Oconee County, Pickens County, South Carolina. It was in force for 46 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 20, 2003, 1:59 AM EST (06:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 20, 2003, 2:45 AM EST
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:01 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 12:20 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 4 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 219 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.
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
730
WUUS52 KGSP 200659
SVRGSP
SCC073-077-200745-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
158 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
PICKENS COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA
EAST CENTRAL OCONEE COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA
* UNTIL 245 AM EST
* AT 158 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES WEST OF CLEMSON...OR ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF SENECA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
CLEMSON AT 205 AM EST.
CENTRAL AT 205 AM EST.
NORRIS AT 210 AM EST.
LIBERTY AT 215 AM EST.
PICKENS AT 225 AM 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 3470 8304 3456 8290 3467 8277 3482 8249
3506 8262
$$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 20, 12:38 AM EST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 12:38 AM EST, 1 hour 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1238 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003 UPDATING ZONES TO INCLUDE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #63. FCSTID = 4 .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. LANE
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 19, 2:55 PM EST, 11 hours 4 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, 4 hours 42 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
JONESLocal storm report, Mar 19, 10:04 PM EST, 3 hours 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1004 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
955 PM TIGERVILLE SC FLASH FLOOD
03/19/03 GREENVILLE NWS EMPLOYEE REPORTED
BEAVER DAM CREEK FLOODING
JONESLocal storm report, Mar 19, 10:45 PM EST, 3 hours 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1045 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1012 PM 3 NE WARE SHOALS SC .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/03 LAURENS RELAY OF PUBLIC REPORT BY
COUNTY 911.
NEDSpecial weather statement, Mar 20, 1:33 AM EST, 26 minutes before
NCZ068-SCZ008-200730- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 133 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE ACROSS WESTERN CHEROKEE COUNTY... AT 130 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED MORE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH ACROSS CHEROKEE COUNTY. ONE THUNDERSTORM CELL IN PARTICULAR WILL MOVE ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF OF THE COUNTY THROUGH 2 AM. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL PRODUCE PEA TO MARBLE SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS OF 40 MPH. IF THE STORMS HOLD TOGETHER...THEY WILL MOVE INTO CLEVELAND COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA BY 2 AM...AND SHOULD REACH THE AREA BETWEEN BOILING SPRINGS AND SHELBY BETWEEN 215 AM AND 230 AM. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION. MOORE
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 19, 8:32 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Anderson, Pickens | 3 hr |
| Mar 19, 9:34 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Greenville, Spartanburg | 4 hr |
| Mar 19, 9:40 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Anderson | 65 min |
| Mar 20, 1:30 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Greenville, Spartanburg | 4 hr |
| Mar 20, 1:55 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Oconee, Pickens | 3 hr |
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.