Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003
Mesoscale Discussion 708
The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 3, 2003, 2:57 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 3, 2003, 2:57 PM EDT (18:57 UTC)
- Expired
- May 3, 2003, 6:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 68 counties
Franklin County, GA, Habersham County, GA, Hart County, GA, Rabun County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Towns County, GA, Union County, GA, White County, GA, Alexander County, NC, Anson County, NC, Ashe County, NC, Avery County, NC, Buncombe County, NC, Burke County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Caldwell County, NC, Catawba County, NC, Cherokee County, NC, Clay County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Davie County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Graham County, NC, Haywood County, NC, Henderson County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Iredell County, NC, Jackson County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, Macon County, NC, Madison County, NC, McDowell County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Mitchell County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Polk County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Rutherford County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Swain County, NC, Transylvania County, NC, Union County, NC, Watauga County, NC, Wilkes County, NC, Yancey County, NC, Anderson County, SC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Greenville County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Union County, SC, York County, SC, Carter County, TN, Cocke County, TN, Greene County, TN, Sevier County, TN, Unicoi County, TN
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:57 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 watches that followed
Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 159 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
747 ACUS11 KWNS 031857 SWOMCD SPC MCD 031857 NCZ000-SCZ000-TNZ000-GAZ000-032200- MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0708 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0157 PM CDT SAT MAY 03 2003 AREAS AFFECTED...EXTREME ERN TN...WRN/SRN NC...NERN GA AND WRN/NRN SC CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL VALID 031857Z - 032200Z STORMS EXPECTED TO INCREASE SWD ALONG THE SRN APPALACHIANS FROM ERN TN THROUGH WRN NC. ACTIVITY WILL SUBSEQUENTLY SPREAD ESEWD INTO PARTS OF NERN GA AND WRN/NRN SC AND SRN/CNTRL SC. ISOLATED HAIL AND STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE INTO THE AFTERNOON. WW MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS AFTERNOON. ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO DESTABILIZE ALONG/E OF THE APPALACHIANS AND W OF AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT CURRENTLY EXTENDS FROM SERN NC NWWD THROUGH N CNTRL NC. DESPITE MODEST LOW LEVEL MOISTURE... SURFACE TEMPERATURES APPROACHING 80F AND MODERATELY STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES WILL SUPPORT MLCAPES AROUND 2000 J/KG. DIVERGENCE E OF UPPER TROUGH MOVING ESEWD THROUGH TN AND OH VALLEYS SHOULD SUPPORT A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR STORMS TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AS ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES. STORMS MAY INTENSIFY AS THEY SPREAD EWD OFF THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND INTO INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE AIR OVER THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. ..DIAL.. 05/03/2003 ...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT... ATTN...WFO...RAH...ILM...RNK...CAE...GSP...MRX...FFC... 35827997 34847900 34367990 34348319 34988436 36088338 36538149
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 9:18 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts and 59 more | 87 min |
| May 2, 11:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 18 more | 3 hr |
| May 3, 9:45 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Decatur, Seminole | 2 hr |
| May 3, 6:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, Richmond | 4 hr |
| May 3, 3:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe and 31 more | 5 hr |
| May 3, 6:15 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Alexander, Anson, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell and 34 more | 2 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.