Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 347, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

August 16, 2003Spartanburg County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 16, 2003, 1:27 PM EDT for Spartanburg County, South Carolina. It was in force for 48 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 16, 2003, 1:27 PM EDT (17:27 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 2003, 2:15 PM EDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Spartanburg County, SC

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, 5.5 hours before the alert went out and 223 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 2003-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1094 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 2003-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -34 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
1094 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
880 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
2 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-33 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.

000 
WUUS52 KGSP 161727
SVRGSP
SCC083-161815-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
127 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN SPARTANBURG COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 215 PM EDT

* AT 127 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SPARTANBURG...OR ABOUT OVER
  PAULINE...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  PACOLET AT 135 PM EDT.
  PACOLET MILLS AT 140 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 3491 8196 3493 8173 3490 8170 3483 8177
          3472 8179 3472 8195

$$
JONES

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 16, 10:55 AM EDT, 2 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 10:55 AM EDT, 2 hours 32 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1055 AM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003

WILL ISSUE A QUICK UPDATE TO CLEAN UP WORDING. LARGE AREA OF PRECIP
THRU. STILL EXPECT SCT CONVECTION THIS AFTN AS UPPER TROF PASSES
THRU.

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

RB

...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION ISSUED AT 308 AM...
DEALING WITH CONVECTION AT THIS EARLY HOUR...MAINLY ACROSS NC...
DEVELOPING IN FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH REMAINING SURFACE BASED
INSTABILITY ABOVE 1500 J/KG...UPPER DIVERGENCE AND VORT DROPPING
DOWN FROM OH VALLEY. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE INTO THE
MORNING HOURS AS THIS SHORT WAVE DROPS DOWN ACROSS THE WESTERN
CAROLINAS. THERE IS SOME QUESTION ABOUT THE EXTENT OF CONVECTIVE
REDEVELOPMENT WITH DAYTIME HEATING AS THE MODELS SHOW THE SHORT WAVE
OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST IN THE AFTERNOON. NEVERTHELESS...THERE SHOULD
BE ENUF LOW LEVEL FORCING AND INSTABILITY TO FIRE SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE FCST AREA IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
WILL CONTINUE TO UNDERCUT GUIDANCE POP WHICH SEEMS TOO HIGH ACROSS
ALL BUT THE NORTH...WHERE IT MIGHT BE RIGHT FOR THE WRONG REASON.

MODELS SHOW MORE POTENT SHORT WAVE ENERGY APPROACHING FROM THE NW BY
LATE TONIGHT...THUS WILL KEEP CHANCE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND NRN ZONES
ALL NIGHT IN CASE MORE CONVECTION CREEPS IN. AS THIS SHORT WAVE
SWEEPS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA SUNDAY...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
LOOKS TO BE A SAFE BET WITH PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE POOLED NEAR
A SURFACE BOUNDARY DROPPING SOUTHWARD. CONVECTION SHOULD TAPER OFF
FROM THE NORTH IN THE EVENING IN THE WAKE OF THE UPPER WAVE.

ON MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...HAVE DECIDED TO REINTRODUCE A CHANCE OF
PRECIP TO THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA LATE IN THE DAY AS WEAK UPSLOPE
FLOW DEVELOPS ACROSS THE PIEDMONT AND FOOTHILLS. THE REST OF THE
FORECAST OUT THROUGH THE MEDIUM RANGE WILL BE LARGELY UNCHANGED.

FCSTID =   10
GSP   87  71  88  69 /  40  40  40  40
AND   88  71  88  70 /  40  40  40  40
CLT   87  71  88  69 /  40  40  40  40
HKY   85  69  87  68 /  40  40  40  40
AVL   83  65  84  64 /  40  40  40  40

MOORE
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 16, 6:10 AM EDT, 7 hours 17 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-161200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
610 AM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION
THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND EVENING. THERE IS A CHANCE THAT A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS FOR A
BRIEF TIME. THERE IS ALSO THE POSSIBILITY THAT A FEW OF THE STORMS
COULD PRODUCE ENOUGH RAIN TO CAUSE FLOODING OF URBAN AND POOR
DRAINAGE AREAS IN LOCATIONS THAT HAVE RECEIVED EXCESSIVE RAIN IN THE
LAST FEW WEEKS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

ANOTHER ROUND OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED SUNDAY AND
SUNDAY EVENING. THERE IS A SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER
LATE IN THE DAY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO EXPECTED MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED ON SUNDAY.

MOORE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 1:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPUnion44 min
Aug 16, 3:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPOconee47 min
Aug 16, 3:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenville, Spartanburg39 min
Aug 16, 3:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPPickens50 min
Aug 16, 3:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPAbbeville50 min
Aug 16, 4:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPAnderson61 min
Aug 16, 4:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenwood30 min
Aug 16, 5:15 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPAnderson, Greenwood3 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.