Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 166, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 20, 2004, 10:08 PM EDT for Elbert County, Georgia. It was in force for 52 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
- Aug 20, 2004, 10:08 PM EDT (02:08 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 20, 2004, 11:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 52 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Elbert County, GA
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:11 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 00:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 163 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 456 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -51 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1079 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 147 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 137 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WUUS52 KGSP 210208
SVRGSP
GAC105-210300-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1008 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
ELBERT COUNTY IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA
* UNTIL 1100 PM EDT
* AT 1006 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN
EXCESS OF 70 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 13 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
BOWMAN...OR ABOUT 14 MILES NORTHEAST OF GAINES SCHOOL...AND MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
BOWMAN AND ELBERTON AROUND 1025 PM
RUCKERSVILLE AROUND 1035 PM
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS CAN REACH SPEEDS OF 60 TO 100 MPH. THESE
WINDS BLOW DOWN TREES...POWER LINES...AND SEVERELY DAMAGE MOBILE
HOMES AND SOMETIMES BUILDINGS. TAKE SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STRONG BUILDING IF THIS STORM AFFECTS YOUR AREA.
LAT...LON 3411 8323 3392 8310 3402 8274 3411 8264
3430 8279 3422 8309
$$
LAMBWhat 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 Aug 20, 10:05 PM EDT, 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 10:05 PM EDT, 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1005 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004 .SHORT TERM (REST OF TONIGHT)... SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT LOCATED OVER OH RIVER VALLEY. HEIGHTS FALLING AS UPPER RIDGE AXIS MOVES INTO ATLANTIC. UPDATING TO REMOVE HEADLINE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH WHICH EXPIRED AT 1000 PM EDT. MADE MINNOR ADJUSTMENTS TO POP/WINDS AND TEMPS. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... THE FOLLOWING WAS ORIGINALLY ISSUED AT 900 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004 SHORT TERM (REST OF TONIGHT)... UPDATING TO INCREASE POPS IN NC MTS AND UPPER SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY PER RADAR TRENDS. INCREASED CLOUD COVER PER SATELLITE IMAGERY. TEMPERATURES AND DEW POINTS GENERALLY APPEAR IN ORDER. THE FOLLOWING WAS ORIGINALLY ISSUED AT 456 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004 SHORT TERM (REST OF TONIGHT)... UPDAINT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH IN SWAIN...GRAHAM AND MACON COUNTIES UNTI 02Z. CONVECTION RACING INTO KCHA AREA OF E TN EXPECTED TO ARRIVE SW NC WITHIN TWO TO THREE HOURS. THE FOLLOWING WAS ORIGINALLY ISSUED AT 303 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004 SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY)... CONVECTIVE MASS AHEAD ON THE FRONTAL LOW CURRENTLY SWINGING NE ACROSS EASTERN TN ATTM. ISO SH HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE NC MTNS THIS AFTERNOON. COVERAGE OF SH/TS SHOULD CONTINUE TO INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING AS ENVIRONMENT BECOME MORE UNSTABLE. WILL COVER WITH CHC POPS EAST OF I-85 THROUGH THIS EVENING. WITH THE LOSS OF HEATING AND LOW MOVING FURTHER NE...CONVECTION SHOULD BECOME MORE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONTAL POSITION TONIGHT. W TO SW H85 WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 KTS AND SHOULD SUPPORT UPSLOPE PRECIP OVERNIGHT. EARLY PERIODS OF THE GFS SHOWING THAT THE MODEL HAS INITIALIZED TOO WET. WILL FAVOR THE ETA SOLUTION OF KEEPING THE PRECIP OVER THE MTNS AND ISO TO SCT EAST OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN. AFTER COORDINATION WITH THE CLUSTER WILL ADVERTISE CATE POPS ALONG THE TN BORDER WITH HIGH CHC TO LIKELY OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE MTNS. EAST OF MTNS...SCT SH AND ISO TS SHOULD ADVANCE TOWARD THE EAST BY DAYBREAK. COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY MOVE ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NE GA SAT AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WILL CONTINUE AT LEAST CHC POPS THROUGH 3Z SUN. WITH CAPES APPROACHING 2K J/KG AND HEALTHY WIND FIELDS...SVR WX POTENTIAL WILL BE A CONCERN SAT AFTERNOON. GFS AND ETA SOLUTIONS ARE TRENDING TO MORE OF A CAD PATTERN FOR SUN INTO MON. WILL ADVERTISE STABLE NE BL FLOW FROM SUN AM THROUGH MON AND WILL KEEP MAX TEMPS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL. EXPECT THAT THE PATTERN WILL YIELD LITTLE CHC FOR MEASURABLE PRECIP. HOWEVER...WITH STALLING FRONT WILL GRID SOME SH/TS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE FA SUN AFTERNOON. LONG TERM (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)... FRONT WILL BE STALLED JUST SOUTH OF THE REGION BY EARLY TUESDAY AS WEAK SHORT WAVES RIDE NORTHEAST THROUGH THE MS RIVER VALLEY. WEAK SRLY RETURN FLOW ALLOWS FAIRLY ABUNDANT SFC TO 850 MB MOISTURE TO PERSIST THROUGH MID WEEK...WITH THE BEST MOISTURE CONVERGENCE IN THE MOUNTAINS. THE ATLANTIC RIDGE GRADUALLY BUILDS WESTWARD TO INCREASE HEIGHTS ACROSS THE REGION...BUT MOISTURE UNDER THE RIDGE PERSISTS TO REQUIRE CHANCE POPS WEST AND SLIGHT CHANCE POPS EAST THROUGH THE PERIOD. AVIATION... HAZE CONTINUES TO RESTRICT VSBY TO MVFR RANGE AT MOST TAF LOCATIONS AND THIS SHOULD ONLY SLOWLY IMPROVE THROUGH EVENING AS MIXING INCREASES. FAIRLY EXPANSIVE SHIELD OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD ADVANCE SLOWLY TOWARD THE MOUNTAINS...BUT BEST AXIS OF MOISTURE AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL ZONE WILL REMAIN MAINLY WEST OF MOST TERMINAL LOCATIONS UNTIL VERY LATE IN THE CURRENT FORECAST PERIOD. TSRA CHANCES WILL BE HIGHEST AT AVL THROUGH PERIOD...BUT NARROWING THE CHANCES DOWN TO A SMALLER TEMPO WINDOW REMAINS ELUSIVE. MIXING AND HIGHER CLOUDS SHOULD KEEP CIGS ABOVE THE LOW IFR RANGE OBSERVED THIS MORNING...HOWEVER. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SHORT TERM (UPDATE)...JAT
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 20, 5:59 AM EDT, 16 hours 9 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 559 AM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-211000- 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- 559 AM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE IN THE FORECAST TODAY...MAINLY FOR LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING FOR NON-MOUNTAIN AREAS. AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM OR TWO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. SEE THE LATEST SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FROM GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG...UNDER THE PRODUCT INVENTORY LIST HEADER CAESPSGSP...FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MIGHT BE NEEDED LATER TODAY IF THE ATMOSPHERE BECOMES UNSTABLE ENOUGH. BURRUS
In the hours before
Local storm report, Aug 20, 9:34 PM EDT, 34 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
934 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0915 PM TSTM WND DMG CLARKESVILLE 34.61N 83.52W
08/20/2004 HABERSHAM GA LAW ENFORCEMENT
DISPATCH CENTER HAS RECEIVED MULTIPLE REPORTS OF TREES
AND POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY. CLARKESVILLE AND
BALDWIN WERE HARDEST HIT BUT OTHER LOCATIONS HAD DAMAGE
AS WELL.
&&
LAMBLocal storm report, Aug 20, 9:44 PM EDT, 24 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
944 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0925 PM TSTM WND DMG CLAYTON 34.88N 83.40W
08/20/2004 RABUN GA LAW ENFORCEMENT
DISPATCHERS REPORTED MULTIPLE TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
ACROSS THE COUNTY...INCLUDING CITY OF CLAYTON. WIND HAS
SINCE DIED DOWN AT DISPATCH CENTER IN CLAYTON.
&&
LAMBThe office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 8:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Habersham, Rabun | 54 min |
| Aug 20, 9:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Stephens | 53 min |
| Aug 20, 10:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Hart | 46 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 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.