Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 33, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

July 11, 2004Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Jul 11, 2004, 8:02 PM EDT for Mecklenburg 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
Jul 11, 2004, 8:02 PM EDT (00:02 UTC)
Expired
Jul 11, 2004, 11:00 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Mecklenburg County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:05 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 0.0 hours before the alert went out and 128 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 00:00Z on 2004-07-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 852 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 2004-07-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 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
852 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1343 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
19 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 
WGUS52 KGSP 120005
FFWGSP
NCC119-120300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
802 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  MECKLENBURG COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 1100 PM EDT

* AT 759 PM EDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND 
  THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHERN MECKLENBURG COUNTY...BETWEEN 
  CHARLOTTE AND MATTHEWS. FLASH FLOODING WAS REPORTED FROM A 
  THUNDERSTORM. AN OBSERVER FROM MATTHEWS REPORTED 2.37 INCHES OF
  RAIN HAD FALLEN BETWEEN 715 PM AND 745 PM. RAINFALL OF THIS MAGNITUDE
  WILL LIKELY LEAD TO FLOODING ALONG FOUR MILE CREEK...ROCKY BRANCH
  AND FLAT BRANCH...AS WELL AS URBAN FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE 
  AREAS IN AND AROUND MATTHEWS.

* STORMS WERE DRIFTING TO THE EAST AND RADAR TRENDS SUGGESTED
  ADDITIONAL STORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THIS REGION THROUGH LATE 
  EVENING.

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. EVEN MODERN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES CANNOT BE 
SAFELY DRIVEN THROUGH FLOOD WATERS.

TO REPORT FLOODING... HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY RELAY 
YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN 
GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG.

LAT...LON 3526 8066 3517 8090 3507 8089 3501 8086
      3521 8055

$$
BURRUS
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS72 KGSP 120119
FFSGSP
NCC119-120300-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
918 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 1100 PM EDT FOR 
MECKLENBURG COUNTY...

AT 915 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHERN AND EASTERN 
MECKLENBURG COUNTY. THE STORMS HAD BUILT NORTH TOAWRD CROFT AND 
HUNTERSVILLE. RAINFALL HAS BEEN TORRENTIAL. AN OBSERVER IN MATTHEWS 
REPORTED 3.4 INCHES OF RAIN HAD FALLEN SO FAR THIS EVENING...AND AN 
AUTOMATED GAGE IN THE SAME AREA REPORTED SIMILAR RAINFALL AMOUNTS. 
RAINFALL OF AROUND 2 INCHES WAS REPORTED FROM THE RAY ROAD AND MCKEE 
ROAD AREAS. THROUGH 11 PM...A SLOW WEAKENING OF THE STORMS IS 
EXPECTED ALONG WITH A DECREASE IN RAINFALL AMOUNTS...BUT AN 
ADDITIONAL INCH OF RAIN IS LIKELY FROM CHARLOTTE TO MATTHEWS AND 
MINT HILL.

URBAN FLOODING WAS REPOTED ALONG MONROE AND SARDIS ROAD...IN THE 
VICINITY OF MATTHEWS. OTHER ROADS MAY BECOME IMPASSABLE AS THE 
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WORKS SOUTH TOWARD PINEVILLE AND THE CATAWBA 
RIVER.

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.

TO REPORT FLOODING...HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY RELAY
YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN
GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG.

LAT...LON 3526 8067 3535 8069 3541 8079 3537 8089
      3517 8091 3507 8089 3501 8086 3507 8071
      3521 8055

$$
BURRUS

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 Jul 11, 2:50 PM EDT, 5 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 11, 2:50 PM EDT, 5 hours 12 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
250 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT)...
NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING ALONG THE LEE
SLOPES ATTM. COMBINATION OF 10 KT ELY UPSLOPE FLOW (AS SEEN ON THE
KGSP-88D VAD WIND PROFILER) AND VERY HIGH DWPT AIR (L70S) IS
RESULTING IN THE PCPN. WE REALLY ARE NOT ALL THAT FAVORABLE ALOFT
WITH WEAK ANITCYCLONIC FLOW...BUT LLVL FORCING IS OVERCOMING THAT.
SO FAR PCPN HAS NOT ANCHORED VERY LONG IN ONE PLACE. INSTEAD IT
SEEMS TO MOVE ONTO NEW...UNDISTURBED AIR RATHER THAN STANDING IN
ONE PLACE. THIS PROBABLY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE WEAK DEEP
LAYER SHEAR...BUT STILL WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A FEW FLOODING
PROBLEMS DEVELOP. WE HAVE AN SPS ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. ALL THE
NUMERICAL MODELS PROG THE LLVL FLOW TO VEER RATHER MARKEDLY EARLY
THIS EVENING...SO I THINK WE WL SEE THE PCPN BEGIN TO MOVE A LITTLE
MORE TO THE EAST AND AFFECT SLOPES WITH A DIFFERENT ASPECT. THEREFORE
WL NOT ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH ATTM.

LATER TNGT BOTH THE ETA AND GFS BRING A WEAK H5 SHORTWAVE INTO THE
MTN ZONES. THE MID SHIFT CAUGHT ON TO THIS AND HAVE CONTINUED
CHANCE POPS ALL NGHT IN THE WRN MTNS.

MON AND TUE LOOK QUITE SIMILAR WITH WEAK CYCLONIC FLOW OVER THE
REGION AS HGHTS BEGIN TO FALL OVER THE ERN CONUS. LAYER RH VALUES
ARE HIGHER ON MON...SO SUSPECT COVERAGE WL BE GREATER. SPC EVEN HAS
US IN A SEE TEXT AREA...SUSPECTING THAT SOME WET MICROBURSTS MIGHT
BE POSSIBLE LATER TMRW. LATE MON NGHT WE ONCE AGAIN SEE SHORT WAVE
ENERGY ENTER THE WRN ZONES..AND HAVE AGAIN KEPT ELEVATED POPS IN THE
WRN ZONES. WITH A DRIER COLUMN ON TUE...HAVE LOWERED POPS TO 30
PERCENT ACROSS THE CWA. SEVERE THREAT MAY BE LITTLE HIGHER WITH
EVEN DRIER AIR ALOFT...THOUGH IT WL BE LOCALIZED WITH LGT SHEAR.

ON WED AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG LONG WAVE TROF RAPIDLY BEGINS TO DEEPEN
OVER THE ERN CONUS. THIS WL SEND A RATHER STRONG COLD FRONT THROUGH
THE REGION WED NGHT. MODELS SHOW GOOD INSTABILITY AHEAD OF THE
FRONT...BROAD H5 PVA AND BETTER SHEAR THAN WE HAVE HAD FOR A WHILE.
THE BEST LLVL CONVERGENCE STAYS WELL E OF THE REGION...BUT CERTAINLY
CANNOT RULE OUT CHANCE POPS ATTM WED AFTN.
&&

.LONG TERM (THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)...
WE WL BE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE STRONG LONG WAVE TROF THU-SAT WHICH
WILL RESULT IN COOLER TEMPS AND LOWER DWPTS. AFTER THE RECENT MUGGY
AND HOT WEATHER...IT WL FEEL VERY NICE. SOME TEMPERATURE AND DWPT
RECOVERY ON SUN AS FLOW BECOMES MORE ZONAL...BUT WL STILL KEEP THE
FORECAST DRY.
&&

.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.
&&

SHORT TERM...BPM
LONG TERM...JAT
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 11, 5:48 AM EDT, 14 hours 14 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
548 AM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-120947-
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-
548 AM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

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

.DAY ONE...
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TODAY ALONG THE
REMNANTS OF A STALLED FRONT ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND
NORTHEAST GEORGIA. COVERAGE OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE GREATEST
ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND BRIEFLY GUSTY WINDS. ALSO...ANY
THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL MOVE VERY SLOWLY. TORRENTIAL
DOWNPOURS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP EACH DAY
THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WHEN A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE AREA. THE USUAL
HAZARDS OF LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...AND BRIEF WIND GUSTS
WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

HG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 11, 3:38 PM EDT, 4 hours 24 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
338 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0325 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 SE GREER              34.91N 82.19W
07/11/2004                   SPARTANBURG        SC   AMATEUR RADIO

            HAM RADIO OPERATOR REPORTED TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN
            THE ABNER CREEK...LIBERTY HILL ROAD AREA...BETWEEN
            HIGHWAY 14 AND HIGHWAY 101. OPERATOR SAID STRAIGHT LINE
            WIND DAMAGE.

&&

DEO
Local storm report, Jul 11, 3:49 PM EDT, 4 hours 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
349 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0340 PM     HAIL             3 SW GREENVILLE         34.81N 82.41W
07/11/2004  0.75 INCH        GREENVILLE         SC   TRAINED SPOTTER

            A TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED PENNY SIZED HAIL ON WHITEHORSE
            ROAD ABOUT 3 MILES NORTH OF INTERSTATE 85.

&&

DEO
Local storm report, Jul 11, 4:10 PM EDT, 3 hours 52 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
410 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0330 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 NE GREER              34.98N 82.18W
07/11/2004                   SPARTANBURG        SC   NWS EMPLOYEE

            NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ALONG HAMPTON ROAD BETWEEN GREER AND
            INMAN.

&&

DEO
Local storm report, Jul 11, 5:51 PM EDT, 2 hours 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
551 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0503 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 NE HONEA PATH         34.48N 82.36W
07/11/2004                   ANDERSON           SC   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN ON US HWY 76 BETWEEN HONEA PATH AND
            PRINCETON IN EXTREME EASTERN ANDERSON COUNTY. FIRE DEPT
            HAD TO CUT LIMBS OFF ROAD.

&&

MOORE
Local storm report, Jul 11, 5:58 PM EDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
558 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0530 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 N UNION               34.80N 81.62W
07/11/2004                   UNION              SC   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            POWER LINES DOWN NEAR KELTON ON HWY 9.

&&

DEO

The office that day

Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 11, 8:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMecklenburg60 min
Jul 11, 11:00 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPMecklenburg2 hr
Jul 12, 6:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPIredell58 min

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.