Alert archive / North Carolina / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 34, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

July 11, 2004Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this flash flood warning at Jul 11, 2004, 11:00 PM EDT for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. It was in force for 2 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, 11:00 PM EDT (03:00 UTC)
Expired: Jul 12, 2004, 1:00 AM EDT
In force: 2 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), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:59 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, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 123 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: 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 120259
FFWGSP
NCC119-120500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1100 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS EXTENDED  
A

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

* UNTIL 100 AM EDT

* AT 1058 PM EDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
  WEAKENING IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY BUT STILL PRODUCING HEAVY
  RAIN IN THE HUNTERSVILLE AND MATTHEWS AREAS. RADAR...OBSERVERS
  AND AUTOMATED GAGES SHOW AROUND 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN
  THE MATTHEWS AREA THIS EVENING. AS THIS EXCESSIVE WATER WORKS
  THROUGH THE COUNTY CREEKS...SOME OF THEM MAY SPILL ON TO AREA
  ROADS.

* AN AUTOMATED GAGE ON THE FOUR MILE CREEK JUST SOUTHWEST OF 
  MATTHEWS...AND EAST OF PINEVILLE...REPORTED A STAGE OF 8.18
  FEET LATE SUNDAY EVENING. FLOOD STAGE AT THIS LOCATION WAS 
  IS 11.5 FEET. IT IS POSSIBLE THIS CREEK COULD OVERFLOW ITS BANKS
  AND PERHAPS EFFECT ROADS AND PROPERTY IN THIS AREA THROUGH 1 AM.

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

LAT...LON 3554 8088 3529 8088 3518 8097 3507 8098
      3502 8082 3515 8062 3520 8055 3522 8059

$$

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, 10:20 PM EDT, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 11, 10:20 PM EDT, 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1020 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

.SHORT TERM (REMAINDER OF TONIGHT)...
KGSP RADAR CONTINUES TO SHOW ISOLATED CONVECTION IN MTNS AND
NUMEROUS SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NC PIEDMONT. BOTH AREAS
SHOULD CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS. CONVECTION OVER NC PIEDMONT
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE SLOWLY AND DISCRETELY PROPAGATING
WESTWARD...USING UP AVAILABLE CAPE AND SUPPORTED BY LOW LEVEL
CONVERGENCE. EXPECT MOST INSTABILITY TO BE CONSUMED BY EARLY MORNING
HOURS...AND WILL HOLD ONTO CHANCE POP ACROSS MOST OF FORECAST AREA
INTO THE OVERNIGHT. BECAUSE OF PERSISTENT HEAVY RAIN...PARTS OF CLT
METRO HAVE ALREADY HIT FCST LOWS...SO THAT AREA WILL BE DROPPED A
DEGREE OR SO. WILL ALSO PUT PATCHY FOG IN ACROSS UPSTATE AND
PIEDMONT WHERE RAIN WAS PREVALENT EARLIER.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...
ISSUED AT 250 PM.
(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.
BPM

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.
07
&&

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

SHORT TERM...MOORE

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 11, 5:48 AM EDT, 17 hours 12 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, 5:51 PM EDT, 5 hours 9 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, 5 hours 2 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

Local storm report, Jul 11, 9:58 PM EDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
958 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

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

0852 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 E CHARLOTTE           35.20N 80.75W
07/11/2004                   MECKLENBURG        NC   AMATEUR RADIO

            110 FT TALL...12 INCH DIAMETER PINE TREE UPROOTED NEAR
            BALLENTINE AND ELM ROADS.

&&

DEO

Local storm report, Jul 11, 10:00 PM EDT, 1 hour before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1000 PM EDT SUN JUL 11 2004

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

0758 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 SE CHARLOTTE          35.18N 80.81W
07/11/2004                   MECKLENBURG        NC   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            TREE ON POWER LINE AT INTERSECTION OF I-485 AND
            INDEPENDENCE.

&&

DEO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 11, 8:02 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	3 hr
Jul 11, 8:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	60 min
Jul 12, 6:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Iredell	58 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in North Carolina, 2004 Every 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.