Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 93, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 6, 2003Greenville County, Spartanburg County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 6, 2003, 12:33 AM EDT for Greenville County, Spartanburg County, South 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: May 6, 2003, 12:33 AM EDT (04:33 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 2003, 1:15 AM EDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Greenville County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 14 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:32 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 00:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 236 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 434 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 424 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 565 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 060433
SVRGSP
SCC045-083-060515-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1233 AM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 115 AM EDT

* AT 1232 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES NORTHEAST OF GREENVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 40
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  GREER AT 1235 AM EDT.
  DUNCAN AT 1240 AM EDT.
  REIDVILLE AT 1245 AM EDT.
  ROEBUCK AT 1255 AM EDT.
  SPARTANBURG AT 100 AM EDT.

THIS RAPIDLY MOVING SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MAY CAUSE WINDS OF UP TO 70 
MPH. 

LAT...LON 3496 8239 3501 8178 3490 8171 3480 8179
          3480 8238

$$

LANE

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 5, 9:20 PM EDT, 3 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 5, 9:20 PM EDT, 3 hours 13 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
920 PM EDT MON MAY 5 2003

FLOODING CONTINUES TO BE OUR MAIN CONCERN THIS EVENING
AS TSTMS DISPT WHEN THEY HIT THE REMNANTS OF THE WEDGE
OVER THE CAROLINAS.  MINOR FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED
IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH ONE BRIDGE WASHED OUT 2 HOURS
AGO.  PLAN TO KEEP THE WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THE
NIGHT.

SVR TSTMS ACTIVITY IS STILL OFF TO THE WEST.  18Z
MODEL RUNS SEEM TO PUSH MOST ACTIVITY TO OUR SOUTH
TONIGHT ALONG THERMAL BOUNDARY THEN REFOCUS TOMORROW
IN NORTH CAROLINA AS A SERIES OF IMPULSES MOVE ACROSS
THE MOUNTAINS.

NO MAJOR CHANGES EXPECTED IN EVENING UPDATE EXCEPT
TO MODIFY TONIGHTS MINS TO FIT CURRENT LOWER TEMPS.

.GSP...
GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND TUE MORNING FOR ZONES
GAZ010...GAZ017>018.

NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND TUE MORNING FOR ZONES
NCZ048...NCZ051>053...NCZ058>059...NCZ062>065.

SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND TUE MORNING FOR ZONES
SCZ001>002...SCZ004>005.

DICARLO

Hazardous weather outlook, May 5, 4:53 AM EDT, 19 hours 40 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-051100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
453 AM EDT MON MAY 5 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY...SOME WITH TORNADOES...LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY.

RB

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 5, 9:56 PM EDT, 2 hours 37 minutes before

NCZ058-062-060245-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
956 PM EDT MON MAY 5 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS MONITORING A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM
IN SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA.  THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING
SEVERE WEATHER.

WHILE THE STRONGEST PART OF THE STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH CHEROKEE AND
CLAY COUNTIES...PERSONS IN SOUTHERN GRAHAM AND MACON COUNTIES SHOULD
BE PREPARED FOR STRONG GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND HAIL.

LOCAL FLOODING IS POSSIBLE IN HEAVIER DOWNPOURS.  MOTORISTS ARE
URGED TO USE EXTREME CARE.  MOST FLOOD FATALITIES OCCUR IN VEHICLES
DURING THE NIGHT.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF
THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.

DICARLO

Special weather statement, May 5, 10:17 PM EDT, 2 hours 16 minutes before

GAZ010-060315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1015 PM EDT MON MAY 5

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS MONITORING A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM
IN SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA.  THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING
SEVERE WEATHER.

AT 1015 PM RADAR INDICATED THE STORM WAS MOVING INTO CLAY COUNTY
NORTH CAROLINA.  IT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SOOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS
NORTHERN RABUN COUNTY BETWEEN 1030 AND 1100 PM.

THIS STORM IS SLOWLY WEAKENING BUT IT CAN STILL PRODUCE STRONG
GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

MOTORISTS IN RABUN COUNTY ARE URGED TO USE CAUTION IN THIS STORM.
REMEMBER MOST FLOOD FATALITIES OCCUR IN VEHICLES AT NIGHT.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF
THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.

DICARLO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 5, 11:19 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Oconee	41 min
May 6, 2:57 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	GSP	York	3 hr
May 6, 2:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Anderson	29 min
May 6, 2:35 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GSP	Abbeville	55 min
May 6, 3:08 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Greenwood	52 min
May 6, 3:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Laurens, Spartanburg	39 min
May 6, 3:35 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Union	40 min
May 6, 3:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Chester	53 min
May 6, 4:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	York	25 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South 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.