Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 79, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 3, 2003Rowan County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 2003, 6:30 PM EDT for Rowan County, North Carolina. It was in force for 60 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: May 3, 2003, 6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC)
Expired: May 3, 2003, 7:30 PM EDT
In force: 60 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Rowan County, NC

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 153 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:30 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
May 3, 3:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 78 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -94 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1075 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

395 
WUUS52 KGSP 032230
SVRGSP
NCC159-032330-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
630 PM EDT SAT MAY 3 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  ROWAN COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT

* AT 630 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES WEST OF SALISBURY...OR ABOUT 2 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF CLEVELAND...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  SALISBURY AT 655 PM EDT.
  CHINA GROVE AT 710 PM EDT.
  FAITH AT 715 PM EDT.
  ROCKWELL AT 725 PM EDT.

ALTHOUGH LARGE HAIL IS THE BIGGEST THREAT WITH THIS SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM...BRIEF DAMAGING WINDS COULD ALSO OCCUR.

LAT...LON 3582 8060 3573 8080 3551 8071 3549 8035

$$
JAT/RWH

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 May 3, 3:25 PM EDT, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 3, 3:25 PM EDT, 3 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
325 PM EDT SAT MAY 3 2003

UPDATE: UPDATING FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 221 ALONG AND E OF
BLUE RIDGE.

SHORTWAVE MOVES SE ACROSS VA TONIGHT...SUPPORTING BEST CHANCE OF
CONVECTION ALONG I-40 CORRIDOR. COLD FRONT DROPS S THROUGH
AREA...REDUCING MOISTURE ENOUGH BY SUN TO DROP POPS. BY SUN NIGHT
SURFACE RIDGE ALONG EASTERN SEABOARD...WITH ISENTROPIC LIFT BRINGING
CLOUDS AND POPS BACK INTO FORECAST. ATMOSPHERE STABLE SUN NIGHT
...BUT DESTABILIZES MON AND TUE AS WEDGE LIKE FEATURE BEGINS TO
ERRODE...GULF OPENS...AND TN VALLEY COLD FRONT APPROACHES. REMNANTS
OF FRONT REACH AREA TUE.

COLD FRONT STALLS ACROSS THE AREA AS WAVES OF LOW PRESSURE MOVE
ALONG IT WEDNESDAY. FRONT SLOWLY MOVES SOUTH OF THE AREA FRIDAY AS
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM THE NORTH. SFC RIDGING CONTINUES
SATURDAY. LEFT CONVECTION IN THRU THU. KEPT TEMPS CLOSE TO GUIDANCE.
THIS MEANT RAISING MAXES THRU MUCH OF THE PERIOD. COOLER TEMPS BY
DAY 7.

FCSTID =    7
GSP   56  74  57  71 /  40  10  40  50
AND   56  75  59  73 /  30  10  40  50
CLT   54  74  54  69 /  40  10  40  40
HKY   51  72  53  64 /  50  10  30  40
AVL   49  70  56  67 /  40  10  30  40

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 040000 ALONG AND E OF BLUE
RIDGE..
SC...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 040000 EXCEPT ABBEVILLE AND
GREENWOOD.

O7

Hazardous weather outlook, May 3, 5:30 AM EDT, 13 hours before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-031130-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
530 AM EDT SAT MAY 3 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS...AND MOVE ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT
OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA DURING THE AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. IN ASSOCIATION WITH THESE STORMS...ANOTHER OUTBREAK OF
SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA. PLEASE SEE CAESPSGSP FOR
DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON.

LANE

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 3, 5:23 PM EDT, 1 hour 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
523 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

521 PM     17 N GREENVILLE           SC   .88 INCH HAIL
05/03/03   GREENVILLE                     SKYWARN SPOTTER REPORTS
                                          NICKEL-SIZED HAIL IN
                                          TIGERVILLE.

BURRUS

Local storm report, May 3, 5:27 PM EDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
527 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

525 PM     17 N GREENVILLE           SC   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/03/03   GREENVILLE                     SKYWARN SPOTTER REPORTS
                                          QUARTER-SIZED HAIL IN
                                          TIGERVILLE.

HG

Local storm report, May 3, 5:39 PM EDT, 51 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
539 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

536 PM     6 W TAYLORSVILLE          NC   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/03/03   ALEXANDER                      ALEXANDER 911 REPORTS
                                          GOLFBALL-SIZED HAIL IN
                                          ELLENDALE.

BURRUS

Local storm report, May 3, 5:48 PM EDT, 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
548 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

547 PM     TAYLORSVILLE              NC   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/03/03   ALEXANDER                      HAM RADIO REPORT OF
                                          QUARTER-SIZED HAIL IN
                                          TAYLORSVILLE.

BURRUS

Local storm report, May 3, 6:15 PM EDT, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
615 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

611 PM     9 SE WALHALLA             SC   .75 INCH HAIL
05/03/03   OCONEE                         DIME-SIZED HAIL AT KEOWEE
                                          KEY. HAM RADIO REPORT.

BURRUS

Local storm report, May 3, 6:22 PM EDT, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
622 PM EDT SAT MAY 03 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

619 PM     10 SE LENOIR              NC   .88 INCH HAIL
05/03/03   CALDWELL                       SKYWARN SPOTTER REPORTED
                                          NICKEL-SIZED HAIL AT
                                          GRANITE FALLS.

BURRUS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 3, 4:22 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Henderson	38 min
May 3, 4:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Polk	51 min
May 3, 4:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Davie	46 min
May 3, 4:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Alexander	45 min
May 3, 4:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Henderson	49 min
May 3, 5:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Iredell	58 min
May 3, 5:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Alexander	49 min
May 3, 6:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Catawba	53 min
May 3, 6:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Iredell	47 min
May 3, 6:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Catawba	46 min
May 3, 7:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Cabarrus	57 min
May 3, 7:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Iredell	48 min
May 3, 7:53 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	GSP	Catawba, Iredell	2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2003 Every 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.