Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 18, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

June 21, 2004Transylvania County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Jun 21, 2004, 10:52 PM EDT for Transylvania County, North Carolina. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 21, 2004, 10:52 PM EDT (02:52 UTC)
Expired
Jun 22, 2004, 1:45 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Transylvania County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:53 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 flash flood 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 256 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 2004-06-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 942 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 2004-06-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 17 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
942 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
701 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS52 KGSP 220252
FFWGSP
NCC175-220545-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1052 PM EDT MON JUN 21 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 145 AM EDT

* AT 1045 PM EDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED FLASH    
  FLOODING FROM A THUNDERSTORM NEAR CEDAR MOUNTAIN. THE STORM        
  CAUSING FLASH FLOODING WAS NEARLY STATIONARY.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
  ROSMAN AND LAKE TOXAWAY.

AT 1040 PM...THE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER REPORTED THAT EVACUATIONS 
WERE BECOMING NECESSARY ALONG A CREEK AT CEDAR LANE ROAD. EXTREMELY 
HEAVY RAINFALL IN THE AREA WAS CAUSING TREES AND POWER LINES TO 
FALL...APPARENTLY FROM MUDSLIDES. HIGHWAY 276 WAS REPORTED 
FLOODING...AND COULD BE CLOSED. THE LARGE...NEARLY STATIONARY 
THUNDERSTORM...COULD CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO BEGIN IN OTHER SECTIONS 
OF THE COUNTY.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF CREEKS
AND STREAMS...ROADS AND ROADSIDE CULVERTS. THE HEAVY RAIN COULD ALSO
TRIGGER ROCK AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP TERRAIN.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

LAT...LON 3522 8290 3505 8303 3517 8258 3542 8272

$$
JONES
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 220350
FFSGSP
NCC175-220545-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1150 PM EDT MON JUN 21 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 145 AM EDT FOR TRANSYLVANIA
COUNTY...

AT 1140 PM EDT...THE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER REPORTED THAT FLASH 
FLOODING WAS CONTINUING...AND EXPANDING...IN TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY.  
ALL THE FLOODING WAS ALONG US 276 SOUTH OF BREVARD...TO NEAR THE 
STATE LINE.  SEVERAL ROADS WERE CLOSED...THERE WAS DEBRIS IN 
ROADS...AND SOME EVACUATIONS WERE REPORTED.  HEAVY RAIN 
CONTINUED...BUT HAD SLACKENED OFF A BIT SINCE 11 PM EDT.

OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ROSMAN 
AND LAKE TOXAWAY.  HOWEVER...RAINFALL HAS NOT BEEN NEARLY AS HEAVY 
IN THOSE AREAS.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. MOVE
UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS
SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. 
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.  WATCH FOR MUD SLIDES AND ROCK SLIDES.

LAT...LON 3522 8290 3505 8303 3517 8258 3542 8272

$$
JONES
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 220545
FFSGSP
NCC175-220545-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
142 AM EDT TUE JUN 22 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT 145
AM EDT...

COUNTY OFFICIALS REPORT THAT FLOOD WATERS HAVE RECEDED FOR THE MOST 
PART IN THE COUNTY. WATER WAS REPORTED TO STILL BE OVER CEDAR LANE 
ROAD...THOUGH THE WATER LEVEL WAS NOT RISING.

EVEN THOUGH THE WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...IT IS POSSIBLE 
THAT SOME BACK ROADS MAY BE WATER COVERED EARLY THIS MORNING. FLASH 
FLOODS CAUSE MUD SLIDES AND FELL TREES IN THE MOUNTAINS...AND EVEN 
THOUGH WATER LEVELS HAVE GONE DOWN...THERE WILL STILL BE MANY ARES 
WHERE THERE ARE DEBRIS IN THE ROAD.

LAT...LON 3522 8290 3505 8303 3517 8258 3542 8272

$$
MCAVOY

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Jun 21, 10:09 PM EDT, 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 21, 10:09 PM EDT, 43 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED FOR SPELLING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1009 PM EDT MON JUN 21 2004

.UPDATE...

HAVE ISSUED A FLOOD WATCH (FFA) FOR THE WESTERN NC FOOTHILLS FOR
TONIGHT. RADAR TRENDS AND CURRENT PATTERN SHOULD YIELD A FEW MORE
HOURS OF PERSISTENT LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINFALL. LATEST MODEL DATA
CONTINUES TO SHOW THE PRESENCE OF CONVECTIVE QPF UNTIL SUNRISE. HAVE
MADE CHANGES TO POP/WX TO SHOW A HIGH AMOUNT OF FAVOR TO THE EASTERN
SLOPES...TRENDING NE TOWARD SUNRISE LLVL WEST FLOW INCREASES.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...

88D SHOWING A GROWING NUMBER OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE
PAST COUPLE OF HOURS...SOME AREAS SHOWING A TENDENCY TO TRAIN. RUC
AND MESOETA DEPICT ISENTROPIC LIFT AND UPSLOPE TO CONTINUE THIS
EVENING...REACHING A PEAK AROUND 3Z THEN A SLOW DECREASE THROUGH
DAYBREAK. WILL INCREASE POPS TO CATE EAST OF THE FALL LINE...AFTER
6Z CHC WEST TO LIKELY EAST.

WITH PROLONGED PERIOD SH/TS GENERATION I EXPECT LOCAL HOURLY
RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES TO CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY MORNING
HOURS. COMBINED WITH GENERAL RAINFALL BELIEVE THAT FLOODING MAY
BECOME A GREATER CONCERN OVER PORTIONS OF THE UPSTATE AND THE
FTHILLS OF NC. FOR NOW WILL HANDLE POTENTIAL FOR EXCESSIVE RAINFALL
WITH FLS AND WILL MONITOR OF THE NEED OF AN FFA.
&&

.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 600 AM EDT TUESDAY FOR ZONES NCZ034...
NCZ054>055...NCZ066>067.
SC...NONE.
&&

NED
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 21, 5:47 AM EDT, 17 hours 5 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
547 AM EDT MON JUN 21 2004

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-220947-
ABBEVILLE SC-ALEXANDER NC-ANDERSON SC-AVERY NC-BUNCOMBE NC-BURKE NC-
CABARRUS NC-CALDWELL NC-CATAWBA NC-CHEROKEE SC-CHESTER SC-
CLEVELAND NC-DAVIE NC-ELBERT GA-FRANKLIN GA-GASTON NC-GRAHAM NC-
GREATER GREENVILLE SC-GREATER OCONEE SC-GREATER PICKENS SC-
GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS SC-GREENWOOD SC-HABERSHAM GA-HART GA-HAYWOOD NC-
HENDERSON NC-IREDELL NC-LAURENS SC-LINCOLN NC-MACON NC-MADISON NC-
MCDOWELL NC-MECKLENBURG NC-MITCHELL NC-NORTHERN JACKSON NC-
OCONEE MOUNTAINS SC-PICKENS MOUNTAINS SC-POLK NC-RABUN GA-ROWAN NC-
RUTHERFORD NC-SOUTHERN JACKSON NC-SPARTANBURG SC-STEPHENS GA-
SWAIN NC-TRANSYLVANIA NC-UNION SC-UNION NC-YANCEY NC-YORK SC-
541 AM EDT MON JUN 21 2004

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

.DAY ONE...
NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT...SOME OF WHICH
MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND
NORTHEAST GEORGIA FROM TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK
OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND TUESDAY IN NORTH
CAROLINA...NORTH AND WEST OF THE CHARLOTTE AREA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

07

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in North Carolina, 2004Every flash flood warning 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.