Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 693

May 2, 2003Columbia County, Glascock County, Richmond County, Georgia; 27 counties in North Carolina; 23 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 2, 2003, 7:17 PM EDT for Columbia County, Glascock County, Richmond County, Georgia; 27 counties in North Carolina; 23 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 88 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 2, 2003, 7:17 PM EDT (23:17 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2003, 8:45 PM EDT
In force
88 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 53 counties

Columbia County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Alamance County, NC, Anson County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Davie County, NC, Durham County, NC, Forsyth County, NC, Franklin County, NC, Guilford County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Orange County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Union County, NC, Wake County, NC, Aiken County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Chester County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Florence County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Lee County, SC, Lexington County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Richland County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Sumter County, SC, York County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:20 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 145 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 2003-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 66 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 2003-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -28 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
66 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-126 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1115 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
49 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.

852 
ACUS11 KWNS 022317
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 022317 
NCZ000-SCZ000-GAZ000-030045-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0693
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0617 PM CDT FRI MAY 02 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...CNTRL NC/CNTRL SC

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 212...

VALID 022317Z - 030045Z

LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING WIND THREAT WILL CONTINUE ACROSS ERN PORTIONS OF
WW0212. A NEW WW MAY BE REQUIRED WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO ACROSS
THE ERN CAROLINAS.

REGIONAL RADAR DATA SHOW A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE TSTMS FROM
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY NC SWD INTO DARLINGTON COUNTY SC. THIS LINE OF
STORMS HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE AND MARGINALLY SEVERE
HAIL ACROSS WRN/CNTRL NC SWD INTO NRN SC. TEMPERATURES HAVE WARMED
INTO THE 80S AHEAD OF THESE STORMS...AND WHEN COMBINED WITH
DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 50S TO MID 60S...IS CONTRIBUTING TO MLCAPES
OF 1000-1500 J/KG. ALTHOUGH LOW-LEVEL WLY/SWLY LOW-LEVEL WINDS IS
EFFECTIVELY DIMINISHING DEEP-LAYER SHEAR...THE PRESENCE OF AN
ESTABLISHED COLD POOL AND RELATIVE HIGH TEMPERATURE/DEWPOINT SPREADS
SUGGESTS A CONTINUED THREAT OF WIND DAMAGE ACROSS ERN PORTIONS OF
WW0212...POTENTIALLY EWD INTO THE ERN CAROLINAS. THEREFORE...A NEW
WW MAY BE REQUIRED FARTHER TO THE E IF CONVECTIVE LINE CAN REMAIN
ORGANIZED.


..MEAD.. 05/02/2003

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...RAH...ILM...RNK...CHS...CAE...GSP...FFC...

34418181 34938143 35388110 35808074 35978058 36148050
36168050 36168043 36137957 36167899 36127858 36137821
36167805 36137789 36077791 35467837 34717896 33987951
33477990 33288006 33188012 33138016 33188072 33218164
33208247 33188270 33278262 33988211

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 2:23 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCRabun2 hr
May 2, 2:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBanks, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Rabun and 1 more5 hr
May 2, 2:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton and 23 more5 hr
May 2, 4:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCClay, Quitman, Troup4 hr
May 2, 4:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCColumbia, Glascock, McDuffie, Richmond5 hr
May 2, 5:43 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Chattahoochee and 36 more92 min
May 2, 5:57 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClay93 min
May 2, 6:05 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCHeard5 hr
May 2, 6:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBaldwin, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts and 58 more6 hr
May 2, 6:36 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton and 23 more84 min
May 2, 4:22 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlamance, Anson, Bladen, Cabarrus, Chatham, Cumberland and 23 more113 min
May 2, 7:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBeaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Duplin and 11 more3 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in South Carolina, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 2003Every mesoscale discussion 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.