Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 22, 2003, 10:31 AM EST for Cabarrus County, Mecklenburg County, Union County, North Carolina. It was in force for 44 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
- Feb 22, 2003, 10:31 AM EST (15:31 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 22, 2003, 11:15 AM EST
- In force
- 44 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Cabarrus County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Union County, NC
The radar
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 22, 9:45 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 121 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 483 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 63 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 705 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 845 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WUUS52 KGSP 221531
SVRGSP
NCC025-119-179-221615-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1031 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
EASTERN MECKLENBURG COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CABARRUS COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA
UNION COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA
* UNTIL 1115 AM EST
* AT 1031 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF CHARLOTTE TO 11
MILES NORTHWEST OF LANCASTER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
WAXHAW AT 1035 AM EST.
MOUNT PLEASANT AT 1045 AM EST.
MONROE AT 1050 AM EST.
WINGATE AT 1055 AM EST.
STURDIVANTS AT 1100 AM EST.
ALTHOUGH TORNADOES HAVE NOT BEEN DETECTED WITH THIS LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT. TORNADOES CAN DEVELOP
WITHOUT WARNING FROM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.
LAT...LON 3534 8078 3503 8083 3477 8089 3482 8032
3518 8027 3519 8051 3550 8032
$$
MOOREWhat 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 Feb 22, 9:59 AM EST, 32 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 9:59 AM EST, 32 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 959 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003 UPDATED FOR TORNADO WATCH CLT METRO AREA...ASSOCAITED WITH LINE OF CONVECTION. FCSTID = 7 GSP 66 42 58 37 / 90 40 0 20 AND 66 42 58 37 / 90 40 0 20 CLT 66 42 57 36 / 90 40 0 20 HKY 59 39 52 34 / 90 40 10 20 AVL 62 38 49 32 / 90 40 10 20 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY FOR ZONES NCZ051>052...NCZ058>059... NCZ062>064. TORNADO WATCH THROUGH 4 PM FOR ZONES NCZ057-071>072-082. SC...TORNADO WATCH THROUGH 4 PM FOR ZONES SCZ009-014. O7
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 22, 6:19 AM EST, 4 hours 12 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-221300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 619 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. SOME OF THE STORMS WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE...ESPECIALLY LATE THIS MORNING INTO THIS AFTERNOON. HEAVY RAINFALL COULD ALSO PRODUCE ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING. WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG AFTER THE PRECIPIATION ENDS TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS. FOR MORE INFORMATION...SEE CAESPSGSP. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED BY EARLY AFTERNOON... ESPECIALLY ALONG THE I-85 CORRIDOR. LANE
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 22, 5:02 AM EST, 5 hours 29 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-222100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 502 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003 ...SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAINFALL EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA TODAY... AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. THIS WILL ALLOW A WARM FRONT TO LIFT NORTHWARD ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA THIS MORNING THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON. WARM...MOIST...AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL MOVE IN BEHIND THE WARM FRONT...AND CREATE A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS. A LARGE AREA OF RAIN WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING...AND INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON. A FEW OF THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE...WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING IN THE FORM OF DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. ISOLATED WEAK TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE... ESPECIALLY ALONG THE NORTHWARD MOVING WARM FRONT. AS A COLD FRONT MOVES TOWARD THE AREA LATER THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING...ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE. THESE STORMS COULD ALSO BE SEVERE...WITH A CONTINUED THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS. HOWEVER...IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME MORE UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON...WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRONGER STORMS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. ALTHOUGH SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA TODAY...IT APPEARS THAT THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE IN AREAS SOUTH OF I-85. ALTHOUGH THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS INTENSE OVER THE MOUNTAINS...WINDS ALOFT TODAY ARE EXPECTED TO BE VERY STRONG...AND EVEN WEAK STORMS MAY BE CAPABLE OF BRINGING SOME OF THESE STRONG WINDS INTO THE VALLEYS...RESULTING IN DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWER LINES. IN ADDITION TO SEVERE WEATHER...HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS. THIS COULD PRODUCE ISOLATED FLOODING ALONG SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS...AS WELL AS IN URBAN AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THIS SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION...INCLUDING POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS. LANE
Local storm report, Feb 22, 9:51 AM EST, 40 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
951 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
935 AM UNION SC .75 INCH HAIL
02/22/03 UNION REPORTED AT 911 CENTER
MOOREThe office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 22, 11:21 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Union | 39 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.