Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 42, NWS Columbia, SC

December 10, 2004Calhoun County, Orangeburg County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at Dec 10, 2004, 4:41 AM EST for Calhoun County, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was in force for 34 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: Dec 10, 2004, 4:41 AM EST (09:41 UTC)
Expired: Dec 10, 2004, 5:15 AM EST
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Calhoun County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 44 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:45 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Dec 10, 2:35 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 113 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: 555 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -93 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 998 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 53 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KCAE 100941
TORCAE
SCC017-075-101015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
440 AM EST FRI DEC 10 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CALHOUN COUNTY IN CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA
  ORANGEBURG COUNTY IN CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF ORANGEBURG

* UNTIL 515 AM EST

* AT 435 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO JUST NORTH OF 
  ORANGEBURG...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  ST. MATTHEWS BY 450 AM EST

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 
NICKLE SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3361 8102 3347 8088 3365 8054 3377 8079

$$

CDL

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 10, 2:03 AM EST	Tornado Warning	CAE	Aiken	42 min
Dec 10, 2:53 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Lexington	22 min
Dec 10, 3:15 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Richland	30 min
Dec 10, 3:26 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Aiken	34 min
Dec 10, 3:37 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Kershaw	38 min
Dec 10, 3:52 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Barnwell	23 min
Dec 10, 3:57 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Orangeburg	33 min
Dec 10, 4:29 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Orangeburg	31 min
Dec 10, 5:18 AM EST	Tornado Warning	CAE	Sumter	27 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

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.