Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 272, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

July 20, 2003Burke County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 20, 2003, 6:52 PM EDT for Burke County, North Carolina. It was in force for 38 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
Jul 20, 2003, 6:52 PM EDT (22:52 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 2003, 7:30 PM EDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Burke County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 115 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:53 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 178 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 12:00Z on 2003-07-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 278 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2003-07-20The 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
278 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-137 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1131 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
60 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.

589 
WUUS52 KGSP 202252
SVRGSP
NCC023-202330-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
652 PM EDT SUN JUL 20 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN BURKE COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT

* AT 652 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 13 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NEWLAND...OR ABOUT 5 MILES NORTH
  OF TABLE ROCK...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 5 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  JONAS RIDGE AT 710 PM EDT.
  TABLE ROCK AT 730 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 3594 8177 3587 8169 3579 8180 3573 8190
          3581 8198 3583 8193 3591 8192 3597 8194
          3600 8189

$$
07

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 Jul 20, 3:17 PM EDT, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 20, 3:17 PM EDT, 3 hours 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
317 PM EDT SUN JUL 20 2003

88D CURRENTLY SHOWING SCATTERED CONVECTION OVER THE UPPER
SAVANNAH...THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD SLOWLY MOVE SSE OVER THE REST OF
THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. OTHERWISE...WILL USE ISOLATED POPS
THROUGH MIDNIGHT AS ADDITIONAL CONVECTION MAY FIRE OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN AND WITHIN THE LEE TROUGH. WILL ALSO WORD IN FOG...POSSIBLY
DENSE IN THE MOUNTAIN VALLEYS...DEVELOPING AFTER MIDNIGHT. MON
AFTERNOON...SH/TS SHOULD DEVELOP MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS IN
ADVANCE OF A APPROACHING COLD FRONT AND H5 TROF. PRECIP BAND SHOULD
CROSS OVER THE SPINE OF THE APPALACHIANS BY 3Z TUE AND SLOWLY
MIGRATE EASTWARD. FRONT WILL LINGER OVER THE FA OVERNIGHT AND WILL
KEEP CHANCES THROUGH TUES MORNING. BY TUES AFTERNOON AND NIGHT WILL
RAMP UP TO LIKELY AS TROF AXIS AND JET DIVERGENCES
ARRIVES...TAPERING TO CHC AROUND MIDNIGHT.

EXTENDED PERIOD STARTS WITH A COLD FRONT TO THE EAST AND AMPLIFIED
H5 TROF OVER THE APPALACHIANS. INTERESTING TO SEE THAT THE 06/12Z
GFS CARRIES A WRAPPED LOW OVER THE FA TUES NIGHT...THIS FEATURE WILL
BE MAINLY DISREGARDED AS IT IS A RESULT OF EXCESSIVE FEEDBACK. WILL
CONTINUE HIGH CHC POPS FOR WED AS TROF REMAINS OVERHEAD AND FRONT
MAY SLOW DUE TO A WEAKER VERSION OF A FRONTAL WAVE. GFS SHOWS THAT
CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS OVER THE FA OVER THE MID WEEK AND
WILL MERGE WITH BERMUDA HIGH ON FRI. THU THRU SAT...WILL RUN A DRY
FORECAST...ALTHOUGH CONVECTION MAY ACTUALLY BE ISOLATED...WITH HIGH
BUILDING OVER THE EAST COAST. BY SUNDAY...DEEP MOISTURE WILL MOVE
OVER THE CWA AND WILL CARRY POPS FOR AFTERNOON CONVECTION.

FCSTID =   16
GSP   70  89  70  86 /  20  30  50  60
AND   71  89  69  87 /  30  30  50  60
CLT   68  90  71  85 /  20  30  40  60
HKY   68  88  69  83 /  20  30  40  60
AVL   63  83  65  81 /  20  40  50  60

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

NED
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 20, 6:14 AM EDT, 12 hours 38 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>013-
019-201200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
614 AM EDT SUN JUL 20 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY
AREAS OF DENSE FOG WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY TO LESS THAN A QUARTER MILE
ACROSS MUCH OF THE NORTH CAROLINA PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS
MORNING...WHILE THE DENSE FOG WILL BE MORE PATCHY IN THE UPSTATE AND
EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. THE FOG WILL BURN OFF STEADILY THROUGH
MID MORNING. LATER THIS AFTERNOON...ISOLATED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AS A RESULT OF DAYTIME HEATING. ANY
THUNDERSTORM TODAY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME STRONG...WITH WIND
GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE ANTICIPATED MONDAY. STORMS
ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS COULD BE SEVERE...AND AN ISOLATED SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM COULD AFFECT THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. A STRONG COLD
FRONT WILL DROP INTO THE SOUTHEAST STATES MONDAY NIGHT AND
TUESDAY...BRINGING WIDESPREAD COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
ANY LOCATION IN THE FORECAST AREA COULD SEE SEVERE WEATHER ON
TUESDAY. THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER THROUGH
THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY.

BURRUS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 19, 8:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGaston41 min
Jul 19, 9:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCleveland51 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North 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.