Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 314, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

August 1, 2003Buncombe County, Henderson County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 1, 2003, 4:18 PM EDT for Buncombe County, Henderson County, North Carolina. It was in force for 42 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
Aug 1, 2003, 4:18 PM EDT (20:18 UTC)
Expired
Aug 1, 2003, 5:00 PM EDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Buncombe County, NC, Henderson County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 70 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:19 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, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 241 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 2003-08-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 769 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 2003-08-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 31 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
769 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
476 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
31 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
55 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

318 
WUUS52 KGSP 012018
SVRGSP
NCC021-089-012100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
417 PM EDT FRI AUG 1 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN BUNCOMBE COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
  NORTHERN HENDERSON COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 500 PM EDT

* AT 417 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES SOUTH OF ASHEVILLE...OR ABOUT OVER AVERY
  CREEK...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  FLETCHER AT 425 PM EDT.
  DANA AT 440 PM EDT.
  BAT CAVE AT 450 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 3558 8259 3536 8263 3530 8231 3558 8221

$$
MCAVOY

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 Aug 1, 3:10 PM EDT, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 1, 3:10 PM EDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
310 PM EDT FRI AUG 1 2003

CONVECTIVE COVERAGE OVER THE GSP CWA IS FAIRLY LIMITED ATTM. TO THE
WEST...THERE IS GOOD COVERAGE ACROSS THE GREAT VALLEY OF TN UNDER
THE H5 VORT IN AN AREA THAT HAS HAD MORE SUN AND SLIGHTLY STEEPER
LAPSE RATES. TO THE EAST...CONVECTION IS BEGINNING TO UNZIP ALONG A
THERMAL GRADIENT...JUST EAST OF ENTRANCE REGION INDUCED MID CLOUD
DECK WHICH HAS HELD TEMPS DOWN INTO THE MID 70S ACROSS OUR NC
PIEDMONT ZONES DURING THE DAY.

LINE OF DRYING EVIDENT ON WATER VAPOR HAS BEEN MUCH SLOWER TO ENTER
REGION THAT THE MODELS ADVERTISED. PW THIS MORNING AT GSO WAS 2.11
INCHES...WHILE IT WAS AROUND 1.5 INCHES AT BNA. APPEARS NOW THAT
BEST FORCING WL STALL JUST E OF THE CWA...IN THE H3 JET ENTRANCE
REGION. HOWEVER...SOME WEAK UPSLOPE/LEE CONVERGENCE CONTINUES...AND
AS THE H5 WAVE WORKS ACROSS THE CWA THIS EVENING...THERE SHOULD BE
GOOD COVERAGE. HAVE GONE LIKELY POPS IN ROUGHLY THE EASTERN HALF OF
THE CWA...AND CHANCE WEST...W/POPS LOWERING LATER TNGT. SO...WL NOT
ISSUE ANY KIND OF FFA ATTM...THOUGH WL CERTAINLY HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE
ON THE LEE SLOPES LATER THIS EVENING AS UPSLOPE IS PROGGED TO GET
BETTER AFTER 00 UTC.

HAVE NOT MADE MANY CHANGES TO THE GRIDS FOR SAT. LIKE THE MID
SHIFT/S AFTN DEVELOPMENT IN THE LEE. W/CONSIDERABLY LESS CLOUD COVER
TMRW (AFTER MORNING STRATUS)...WE SHOULD HAVE BETTER DESTABILIZATION
AND MORE TYPICAL CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE ESCARPMENT WHICH
THEN DRIFTS INTO THE LEE. PW/S ARE PROGGED TO BE LOWER MOST OF THE
DAY TMRW...BUT THEY WL STILL BE HIGH ENOUGH FOR ISOLATED HEAVY RAIN.

LATE SAT NGHT MCS REMNANTS SHOULD AFFECT THE WRN ZONES. MRX
INCREASES THEIR POPS TO LIKELY LATE...AND WE MATCH UP WELL IN THIS
REGARD. FLOW IS ORIENTED SUCH THAT ACTIVITY SHOULD NOT MAKE IT TOO
FAR E OF THE MTS...THOUGH ACTIVITY MAY POP ALONG THE LEE SLOPES.

LONG WAVE SHARPENS CONSIDERABLY ON SUNDAY...PUTTING US IN A
DEEP...WET SWLY FLOW. GOOD SHEAR AND PLENTY OF MINOR WAVES SWINGING
THROUGH THE TROF. IT IS ANYBODY/S GUESS AS TO EXACTLY WHERE MINOR
WAVES WL BE CONSIDERING MCV POTENTIAL W/THIS PATTERN...SO HAVE KEPT
POPS AT 50 PERCENT SUN AND SUN NGHT.

ON MONDAY THE LONG WAVE CONTINUES TO TRUNDLE SLOWLY TO THE SE. SHEAR
IS STRONGER...SO WHILE THE SEVERE THREAT WL BE HIGHER...HOPEFULLY
PCPN WL MOVE A LITTLE FASTER. CONSIDERED ISSUING AN ESF FOR SUN/MON
HEAVY RAIN THREAT...BUT DECIDED TO HOLD OFF FOR NOW.

FCSTID =   14
GSP   69  86  69  86 /  50  50  50  40
AND   70  87  70  87 /  40  40  40  40
CLT   70  86  70  86 /  60  40  40  40
HKY   68  85  68  84 /  50  40  40  40
AVL   65  82  65  81 /  40  40  40  50

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

MCAVOY
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 1, 5:55 AM EDT, 10 hours 23 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-011200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
555 AM EDT FRI AUG 1 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS
THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS
EVENING. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE VERY SLOWLY AND COULD PRODUCE
LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. FURTHER DETAILS ON THE POTENTIAL FOR
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL LATE TODAY CAN BE FOUND IN THE SPECIAL WEATHER
STATEMENT...SPSGSP...ISSUED EARLIER THIS MORNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH DAY
THROUGH NEXT THURSDAY. GIVEN THE CURRENT MOIST SOIL CONDITIONS
ACROSS THE REGION...ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP COULD PRODUCE
LOCALIZED FLOODING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED IF FLOODING DEVELOPS LATER TODAY.

HG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 1, 5:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPUnion3 hr

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.