Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 307, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 29, 2003, 4:47 PM EDT for Cherokee County, Spartanburg County, Union County, South Carolina. It was in force for 58 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 29, 2003, 4:47 PM EDT (20:47 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 29, 2003, 5:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 58 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Cherokee County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Union County, SC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:48 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 3:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 212 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
- 681 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -58 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1045 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -3 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 54 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
724
WUUS52 KGSP 292047
SVRGSP
SCC021-083-087-292145-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
446 PM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
EASTERN SPARTANBURG COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA
CHEROKEE COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA
NORTHERN UNION COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA
* UNTIL 545 PM EDT
* AT 446 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES EAST OF SPARTANBURG...OR ABOUT 3 MILES
NORTHWEST OF PACOLET...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
JONESVILLE AT 450 PM EDT.
THICKETTY AT 455 PM EDT.
CARLISLE AT 505 PM EDT.
GAFFNEY AT 510 PM EDT.
SARATT AT 515 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 3461 8185 3477 8178 3499 8190 3520 8138
3506 8141 3489 8153 3476 8146 3449 8142
3446 8154
$$
LANE/BPMWhat 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 29, 4:20 PM EDT, 27 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 29, 4:20 PM EDT, 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 420 PM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003 SPC HAS BOXED MOST OF THE CWA E OF THE MTNS AS AN MCV MOVES IN FROM NRN GA. AT THE SFC...WEAK FRONT CURRENTLY EXTENDS FROM GSP TO CLT. SCT STRONG CONVECTION IS FIRING ON THE BNDRY...WITH OTHER CONVECTION FIRING OFF THE HIGHER TERRAIN. THE COMBINATION OF GOOD LLVL CONVERGENCE...SBCAPES AOA 3000 AND THE SHORT WAVE WL RESULT IN GOOD CONVECTIVE COVERAGE E OF THE MTNS THE REST OF THE AFTN AND THIS EVENING. ASIDE FROM SEVERE THREAT...WEAK ELY FLOW N OF THE FRONT...COUPLED WITH FAIRLY LIGHT WLY FLOW ALOFT AS WELL AS HIGH PW/S AND HIGH WBZ/S WL RESULT IN AN ENVIRONMENT FAVORABLE FOR LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. ATTM A WATCH IS NOT WARRANTED...BUT WL MONITOR AS A SHORT TERM WATCH MAY BE NEEDED AT SOME POINT THIS EVENING. NOT MUCH FORCING ON WED...THOUGH THE FRONT WL REMAIN IN THE AREA. BEST LLVL CONVERGENCE ON THE MODELS DEVELOPS OVER THE SW MTNS. LAYER DRIES OUT QUITE A BIT AS WELL. THEREFORE...WL HAVE ONLY SLGT CHANCE POPS IN THE FAR NE ZONES...INCREASING TO AROUND 50 PERCENT INTO THE SW MTNS. THERE WL BE LGT UPSLOPE FLOW AGAIN TMRW NGHT...AND THERE MAY ONCE AGAIN BE A PROBLEM W/STATIONARY CELLS INTO THE HIGHER TERRAIN WED NGHT. LONG WAVE SHARPENS A LITTLE ON THU W/DEEP AND MOIST SWLY FLOW. ETA HAS GOOD CONVERGENCE ALONG THE LEE AS WELL. WL GO W/A 50 POP ALL ZONES. DEEPER FRONTAL BNDRY MOVES ACROSS THE CWA EARLY FRIDAY. LOOKS LIKE A CONTINUED GOOD CHANCE OF RAIN. FCSTID = 14 GSP 70 86 70 88 / 60 30 30 50 AND 71 87 71 89 / 50 40 40 50 CLT 70 84 71 89 / 60 30 30 50 HKY 68 82 69 86 / 60 20 30 50 AVL 66 81 67 83 / 30 30 30 50 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. MCAVOY
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 29, 4:58 AM EDT, 11 hours 49 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-291100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 458 AM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED ATT HIS TIME. RB
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 29, 1:08 PM EDT, 3 hours 39 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-300000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 108 PM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN CAROLINAS... THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON. A MOSTLY SUNNY START TO THE DAY HAS RESULTED IN A VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST...AND A POTENT UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE ROTATES ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS TO BECOME SEVERE. THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT THROUGH EARLY EVENING WILL BE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 70 MPH. THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD WEAKEN WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. WITH A WEAK WIND FLOW ALOFT...ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE SLOWLY...AND COULD PRODUCE AT LEAST A COUPLE OF INCHES OF RAIN IN ANY ONE LOCATION. STANDING WATER ON ROADS...AND IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS IS LIKELY WHEREVER THUNDERSTORMS LINGER FOR LONG PERIODS. STREAMS...CREEKS AND RIVERS COULD SEE QUICK RISES ACROSS THE REGION...ENHANCING THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCALIZED FLOODING. SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO ACTIVATE QUICKLY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. DISPATCHERS SHOULD ENSURE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE AWARE OF THIS INFORMATION. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. BURRUS
Local storm report, Jul 29, 2:54 PM EDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
254 PM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
237 PM MATTHEWS NC WIND DAMAGE
07/29/03 MECKLENBURG SPOTTER REPORTED TREE
DOWN ON CAR ON
INDEPENDENCE BLVD NEAR
MATTHEWS. 0.7 OF RAIN IN
TEN MINUTES. TRASH CANS
WASHING DOWN STREET.
LAMBSpecial weather statement, Jul 29, 3:50 PM EDT, 57 minutes before
NCZ034-035-054>056-066>070-SCZ004>008-010-292045- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 350 PM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003 ...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING OFF OF THE BLUE RIDGE... AT 344 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED ALONG THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE MOUNTAINS AND IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS. THIS LINE OF STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DRIFT SOUTH AND EAST TOWARD THE I-85 AND I-77 CORRIDORS THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY AS THEY MOVE INTO THE PIEDMONT...AND THEY WILL BE CAPABLE OF INCREASING TO SEVERE LEVELS. WIND GUSTS OF 60 TO 70 MPH WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF THE AREA UNTIL 9 PM. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THESE STORMS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. LANE
Local storm report, Jul 29, 4:02 PM EDT, 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
402 PM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
236 PM 1 W MATTHEWS NC WIND DAMAGE
07/29/03 MECKLENBURG ***INJURED 1, DEAD 3***
LARGE TREE DOWN ON
VEHICLE. OCCURRED ON
MATTHEWS TOWNSHIP
PARKWAY. REPORTED BY
MECKLENBURG COUNTY
COMMUNICATIONS CENTER.
MOORESpecial weather statement, Jul 29, 4:38 PM EDT, 9 minutes before
NCZ065-292115- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 438 PM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003 ...HENDERSON COUNTY HAS BEEN CLEARED FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 812... AT 438 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THE STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS HAD MOVED EAST OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS. WHILE A FEW SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS MAY PERSIST ACROSS HENDERSON COUNTY THIS EVENING...NO ADDITIONAL SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE REST OF THE WATCH AREA. GERAPETRITIS
Local storm report, Jul 29, 4:41 PM EDT, 6 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
441 PM EDT TUE JUL 29 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
434 PM VALDESE NC .75 INCH HAIL
07/29/03 BURKE HAM REPORTED DIME SIZED
HAIL.
441 PM 3 E BETHLEHEM NC WIND DAMAGE
07/29/03 ALEXANDER SPOTTER REPORTED 4-5
LIMBS BLOWING OFF TREES
AND PEA SIZE HAIL.
LAMBThe office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 5:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | York | 54 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.