Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 97, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 6, 2003Union County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 6, 2003, 3:35 PM EDT for Union County, South Carolina. It was in force for 40 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, 3:35 PM EDT (19:35 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 2003, 4:15 PM EDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Union County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:39 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, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 217 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: 824 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 135 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 182 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 061935
SVRGSP
SCC087-062015-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  UNION COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 415 PM EDT

* AT 334 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES WEST OF UNION...OR ABOUT 7 MILES WEST OF
  BUFFALO...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  CROSS KEYS AT 340 PM EDT.
  BUFFALO AT 340 PM EDT.
  UNION AT 345 PM EDT.
  MONARCH MILLS AT 350 PM EDT.
  CARLISLE AT 400 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 3490 8174 3460 8185 3450 8145 3486 8148

$$

RBN

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 6, 10:32 AM EDT, 5 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 6, 10:32 AM EDT, 5 hours 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1032 AM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003

AT 14Z...CWFA LOOKS TO BE SOUTH OF MAIN SYNOPTIC SCALE BNDRY...WITH
SSW SFC WINDS AT MOST STATIONS. AMOUNT OF DESTABILIZATION THIS
AFTERNOON STILL QUITE UNCERTAIN WITH ENCROACHING CLDS AND PCPN
THANKS TO APPROACHING MCS. 12Z 850 MB ANALYSIS DOES INDICATE
A FAVORABLE THERMAL/MOISTURE PROFILE FOR DESTABILIZATION...ROUGHLY
ALONG NEW SPC DAY 1 SLT RISK...THRU NE GA...THE UPSTATE TO AROUND
CLT METRO. WILL UPDATE SVR WX OUTLOOK TO REFINE CURRENT THINKING...
FOR A THREAT A FEW LATE DAY OR EVENING SVR STORMS. WILL MENTION
THREAT OF BOTH DAMAGING WIND AND LARGE HAIL...BUT NOT TERRIBLY
IMPRESSED WITH PARAMETERS FOR EITHER OF THESE WITH HIGH WBZ
HEIGHTS AND LOW THETA-E LAPSES GIVEN MOIST SNDGS. ALSO PLAN ON
NOT MAKING CHGS TO GOING FLOOD WATCH ALTHOUGH OBVIOUS SHORT
TERM THREAT WILL REMAIN LIMITED TO THE MOUNTAINS GIVEN LARGE
SCALE PATTERN OF BROAD WSW FLOW.

FCSTID = 55
GSP   78  63  82  62 /  90  40  40  40
AND   79  63  83  61 /  90  40  40  40
CLT   80  62  83  62 /  90  40  40  40
HKY   76  61  80  61 / 100  40  40  40
AVL   73  58  78  57 / 100  50  50  40

.GSP...
GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY GAZ010-017>018-GAZ026-GAZ028>029.
NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082.
SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY SCZ001>014-019.

Hazardous weather outlook, May 6, 4:40 AM EDT, 10 hours 55 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-061100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
440 AM EDT TUE MAY 6 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...

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. SOME MAY BECOME
SEVERE...ESPECIALLY LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY TODAY.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 6, 2:36 PM EDT, 59 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
236 PM EDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

228 PM     5 S HARTWELL              GA   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/06/03   HART                           911 REPORTED GOLFBALL
                                          HAIL ON COKESBURY HWY IN
                                          SOUTHERN HART COUNTY.

JMP

Local storm report, May 6, 2:59 PM EDT, 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
259 PM EDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

250 PM     CALHOUN FALLS             SC   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/06/03   ABBEVILLE                      911 CENTER REPORTED
                                          QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN
                                          CALHOUN FALLS

JMP

Local storm report, May 6, 3:08 PM EDT, 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
308 PM EDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

235 PM     BOWMAN                    GA   TORNADO
05/06/03   ELBERT                         MOBILE HOME AND VEHICLES
                                          DAMAGED AND NUMEROUS
                                          TREES DOWN NEAR BOWMAN
                                          AND ON HOOT OWL ROAD.

TJB

Local storm report, May 6, 3:11 PM EDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
311 PM EDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

310 PM     ABBEVILLE                 SC   .75 INCH HAIL
05/06/03   ABBEVILLE                      EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
                                          REPORTED DIME SIZE HAIL
                                          IN ABBEVILLE.

TJB

Local storm report, May 6, 3:14 PM EDT, 21 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
314 PM EDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

1250 AM    GREER                     SC   WIND DAMAGE
05/05/03   GREENVILLE                     TREES DOWN IN GREER ON
                                          VICTOR HILL ROAD REPORTED
                                          BY ROAD DEPARTMENT.

100 AM     INMAN                     SC   WIND DAMAGE
05/05/03   SPARTANBURG                    ROAD DEPARTMENT REPORTED
                                          SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN
                                          INMAN NEAR THE MILL.

TJB

Local storm report, May 6, 3:18 PM EDT, 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
318 PM EDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

250 PM     RUCKERSVILLE              GA   WIND DAMAGE
05/06/03   ELBERT                         HIGH WINDS DOWNED TREES
                                          AND POWERLINES DOWN IN
                                          RUCKERSVILLE REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER.

TJB

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, 12:33 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Greenville, Spartanburg	42 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, 3:52 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.