Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 150, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

July 14, 2004Graham County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 14, 2004, 3:36 PM EDT for Graham County, North Carolina. It was in force for 54 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
Jul 14, 2004, 3:36 PM EDT (19:36 UTC)
Expired
Jul 14, 2004, 4:30 PM EDT
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Graham County, NC

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:39 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 severe thunderstorm 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 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 228 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 12:00Z on 2004-07-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 2004-07-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 90 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2332 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
71 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 
WUUS52 KGSP 141936
SVRGSP
NCC075-142030-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
335 PM EDT WED JUL 14 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  GRAHAM COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 430 PM EDT

* AT 330 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.  THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  TAPOCO...OR ABOUT 13 MILES WEST OF ROBBINSVILLE...AND MOVING EAST
  AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  FONTANA VILLAGE AND SANTEETLAH AROUND 350 PM EDT
  ROBBINSVILLE AROUND 355 PM EDT
  STECOAH AROUND 410 PM EDT

PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY
RAIN CAN OCCUR WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM.

LAT...LON 3546 8399 3532 8405 3522 8400 3524 8370
      3543 8358

$$

NED

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 14, 2:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 2:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
230 PM EDT WED JUL 14 2004

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY)...
SURFACE FRONT HAS INCREASINGLY BECOME ZONALLY ORIENTED OVER TN THIS
AFTERNOON...WITH A PUSH ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS EXPECTED BY
EARLY EVENING. AIRMASS REMAINS MODERATELY UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON
WITH 2000+ CAPES ACROSS THE PIEDMONT...HOWEVER SECTIONS UNDER MCS
DEBRIS CLOUDS FOR MUCH OF THE DAY SHOW CONSIDERABLY LESS INSTABILITY.
WEST TO NW FLOW CONT TO MIX OUT DEWPOINTS IN MANY LOCATIONS TO LIMIT
CAPE AS WELL. VAD WIND PROFILE SHOWS INCREASING SHEAR PROFILE WITH
NEARLY 40 KT OF FLOW AROUND 3 KM. COVERAGE HAS BEEN VERY MINIMAL
TODAY...BUT POTENTIAL STILL EXISTS THROUGH EVENING FOR SCATTERED
COVERAGE AND ISOLATED SEVERE GIVEN FAVORABLE WIND SHEAR.

MM5 MODEL CROSS SECTIONS ALSO STILL FEATURE STRONG SUBSIDENCE WITH
THE FRONT THIS EVENING WITH ISENTROPIC SURFACES DIPPING TOWARD THE
GROUND. WINDS HAVE YET TO COME UP IN MOST LOCATIONS OUTSIDE THE
MOUNTAINS...BUT BETTER PUSH SHOULD COME CLOSER TO 21Z. WILL THUS
KEEP LAKE WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA WINDS GOING INTO THE EVENING HOURS.

SFC FRONT PUSHES JUST SOUTH OF THE AREA THROUGH THU...WITH TRANSIENT
UPPER SHORTWAVES ROTATING INTO THE REGION ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE
DEEP UPPER LOW OVER NEW ENGLAND. CONTINENTAL MOISTURE WITH EACH
WEAK SYSTEM LOOKS SPARSE SO NO POPS ARE EXPECTED. THE STALLED FRONT
MAY RETREAT SLIGHTLY NORTHWARD INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH WEAK WAVES
OF LOW PRES POSSIBLY DEVELOPING FROM THE SRN PLAINS TO THE LOWER MS
VALLEY AND TRACKING EASTWARD. ONLY ISOLATED DIURNAL CONVECTIVE
CHANCES IN WESTERN SECTIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE PM SATURDAY.
&&

.LONG TERM (SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...
EASTERN U.S. UPPER TROUGH STILL FORECAST TO BE IN PLACE AT THE START
OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD WITH MEAN TROUGHING STILL PRESENT EVEN AT THE
END OF DAY 7. DIFFICULT TO TIME PERIODIC S/WV ENERGY ROTATING THROUGH
THE L/WV...SO WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWERS ON
SUNDAY...OUT AHEAD OF AND COINCIDENT WITH COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE.
LITTLE CHANGE TO GOING TEMPS WITH THE MEAN NUMBERS SLIGHTLY BELOW
NORMAL...ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE PERIOD WHEN
TROUGH IS DEEPEST.
&&

.AVIATION...
HAVE CONTINUED TREND OF GUSTY WESTERLY SFC WINDS AT ALL TAF SITES
THIS AFTERNOON WITH INCREASED MIXING AHEAD OF APPROACHING COLD
FRONT.  ANY RENEWED DEEP CONVECTIVE TRENDS CONTINUE TO BE UNCERTAIN
WITH SOME SUPPRESSION ATTM IN THE WAKE OF NOW DISSIPATED MCS COMBINED
WITH SOME DOWNSLOPE AIDED LOW SFC DWPTS. FOR NOW...HAVE GONE FOR A
PERIOD OF JUST VCTS AT ALL SITES FROM 21Z-01Z. OTHERWISE...VEERED
WINDS TO NW TONIGHT BEHIND FRONT AND KEPT WINDS UP ALL NIGHT WITH
SOME WEAK TO MODERATE PRESSURE RISES. SKY AND VSBY TONIGHT AND
THURSDAY MORNING SHOULD REMAIN IN VFR CATEGORY.

&&

.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR ZONES GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029 UNTIL 8
     PM EDT.
NC...LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR ZONES NCZ033>035-037-038-048>059-
     062>072-082 UNTIL 8 PM EDT.
SC...LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR ZONES SCZ001>014-019 UNTIL 8 PM EDT.
&&

SHORT TERM...HG
LONG TERM...CSH
AVIATION...CSH
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 14, 4:39 AM EDT, 10 hours 57 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
439 AM EDT WED JUL 14 2004

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-150845-
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-
439 AM EDT WED JUL 14 2004

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

.DAY ONE...
THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. DUE TO AN APPROACHING UPPER
TROF AND A SURFACE COLD FRONT...THE ATMOSPHERE IS EXPECTED TO BECOME
VERY UNSTABLE BY THIS AFTERNOON. DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND
HEAVY RAIN ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS THIS
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ON SUNDAY. SOME STORMS MAY CONTAIN
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

RB

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 14, 11:22 AM EDT, 4 hours 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1122 AM EDT WED JUL 14 2004

NCZ034>037-051-056>058-142100-
ALEXANDER NC-CALDWELL NC-CATAWBA NC-DAVIE NC-GRAHAM NC-IREDELL NC-
ROWAN NC-SWAIN NC-
1122 AM EDT WED JUL 14 2004

...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF A
COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON. THE AIRMASS ACROSS
THE AREA REMAINS MOIST AND UNSTABLE...AND ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT
DEVELOP COULD PRODUCE WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH AND HAIL THE SIZE OF
PENNIES.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS ALREADY IN PLACE ACROSS MUCH OF THE
WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA UNTIL 5 PM EDT.
HOWEVER...EVEN LOCATIONS NOT WITHIN THE CURRENT WATCH...AREAS FROM
THE NORTHERN FOOTHILLS TO THE NORTHWEST PIEDMONT OF NORTH
CAROLINA...AND THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS OF NORTH
CAROLINA...COULD EXPERIENCE ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

AS THE FRONT PASSES LATER THIS AFTERNOON...WEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO
INCREASE AND BECOME QUITE GUSTY. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WINDS BOTH WITH ANY
THUNDERSTORMS AND WITH SUSTAINED WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT. STAY TUNED
TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST
UPDATES.

HG
Special weather statement, Jul 14, 1:48 PM EDT, 1 hour 48 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
148 PM EDT WED JUL 14 2004

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-150100-
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-
148 PM EDT WED JUL 14 2004

...ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS STILL POSSIBLE THROUGH THIS EVENING ACROSS
THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 629...WHICH WAS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH
OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON HAS
BEEN CANCELED. HOWEVER...A STRONG COLD FRONT IS STILL EXPECTED TO
ENTER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA LATER THIS
AFTERNOON. ITS ARRIVAL WILL COINCIDE WITH THE WARMEST PART OF THE
DAY...WHICH WILL ALLOW SHOWERS AND STORMS TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE
FRONT. WIND FIELDS IN THE ATMOSPHERE ARE QUITE STRONG TODAY...WHICH
MEANS THAT ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE
DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS AND POSSIBLY LARGE HAIL.

AFTER THE FRONT PASSES EARLY THIS EVENING...WEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED
TO INCREASE AND BECOME QUITE GUSTY. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WINDS...BOTH WITH ANY
THUNDERSTORMS AND WITH SUSTAINED WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT. STAY TUNED
TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST
STATEMENTS.

LAMB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 14, 12:17 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGraham, Swain58 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2004Every severe thunderstorm 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.