Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 43, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 23, 2004Union County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 23, 2004, 7:05 PM EDT for Union County, North Carolina. It was in force for 40 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
May 23, 2004, 7:05 PM EDT (23:05 UTC)
Expired
May 23, 2004, 7:45 PM EDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Union County, NC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 151 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:09 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

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 240 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-05-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 295 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, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2004-05-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -30 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
295 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-72 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1011 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
4 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 232305
SVRGSP
NCC179-232345-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
705 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN UNION COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 745 PM EDT

* AT 705 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF MONROE...OR ABOUT 4 MILES WEST
  OF NEW SALEM...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  NEW SALEM AROUND 720 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 3522 8054 3504 8055 3499 8000 3524 7999

$$
HG/CSH

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 May 23, 3:08 PM EDT, 3 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 23, 3:08 PM EDT, 3 hours 57 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
308 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

.SHORT TERM...
LEE TROUGH IS CURRENTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR DECENT COVERAGE OF
CONVECTION ACROSS THE NC FOOTHILLS. STRONGER FLOW IS RESULTING IN
FASTER MOVEMENT OF CELLS THAN HAS BEEN OBSERVED IN PREVIOUS
DAYS...AND LEE CONVECTION SHOULD SUSTAIN ITSELF AS IT MOVES EAST
INTO SLIGHTLY MORE UNSTABLE AIR ACROSS THE FAR WESTERN PIEDMONT.
CONVECTION SHOULD BE LARGELY DIURNAL...ALTHOUGH OUTFLOW INTERACTIONS
SHOULD ALLOW CONVECTION TO PERSIST FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE OF HOURS
AFTER SUNSET. THREAT OF PULSE SEVERE WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING
HOURS...ALTHOUGH SHEAR MAY BE JUST STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A
MULTICELL CLUSTER OR TWO.

SW TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW TRAVERSING THE NORTHEAST U.S.
ON MONDAY WILL RESULT IN LOW LEVEL FLOW WITH A STRONG WESTERLY
COMPONENT ACROSS OUR AREA. THE ETA MIXES OUT DEWPOINT IN THE LEE TO
THE LOW TO MID 60S TOMORROW...WHICH MAKES SENSE WITHIN THE DOWNSLOPE
REGIME. HOWEVER...LEE TROUGH SHOULD ONCE AGAIN BE IN PLACE TO
PROVIDE FOCUS FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT. IN ADDITION...SHEAR WILL
INCREASE JUST A BIT MORE TOMORROW...INCREASING THE LIKELIHOOD OF
CONVECTION BECOMING ORGANIZED ALONG OUTFLOWS LAID DOWN BY HIGH
TERRAIN OR LEE TROUGH CONVECTION. MOS POPS TOMORROW ARE VERY
LOW...PROBABLY DUE TO THE WESTERLY FLOW...BUT OUR FORECAST WILL
FEATURE CHANCE POPS ACROSS ROUGHLY THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE AREA
(BASICALLY ALL AREAS IN AND EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS)...WITH SILENT 20S
SOUTH. WILL ESSENTIALLY USE THIS SAME ARGUMENT TO JUSTIFY HIGHER
POPS FOR TUESDAY.

.LONG TERM...
THINGS BEGIN TO GET A LITTLE MORE INTERESTING ACROSS THE AREA DURING
MID-WEEK...AS THE TRAIN OF NORTHERN U.S. SW TROUGHS CONTINUES TO
FLATTEN THE RIDGE ACROSS THE DEEP SOUTH. THIS WILL ALLOW THE
STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY TO SAG CLOSE
TO...OR PERHAPS INTO THE CWFA DURING MID-TO-LATE WEEK. AT THE VERY
LEAST...THIS WILL RENDER THE NORTHERN PART OF OUR AREA SUSCEPTIBLE
TO MCS/S DEVELOPING OVER THE OHIO VALLEY AND DROPPING E/SE. IN
FACT...THE GFS TRACKS AN MCS ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF OUR CWFA
DURING THE WEDNESDAY NIGHT PERIOD. AT THIS POINT...WE DO NOT HAVE A
GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE THAT THE FRONT WILL SAG AS FAR SOUTH AS THE
MODELS ARE DEPICTING...BUT WILL INCREASE POPS WED NIGHT INTO THE
40-50 PERCENT RANGE ACROSS THE NORTH.

THE FRIDAY THRU SUNDAY PERIOD MARKED BY THE POTENTIAL OF ANOTHER SFC
FNT DROPPING INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTH SATURDAY AND ONLY SLOWLY
RETURNING NWD SUNDAY. RIGHT NOW...FRIDAY APPEARS TO BE THE DAY WITH
THE LEAST CHC OF PRECIP. HAVE LOWERED POP TO 20 CWFA WIDE FOR
AFT/EVE CONVECTION. FNT NOT A SURE THING. IN FACT...ENSEMBLE MEAN
POP SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER XCPT FOR AVL. THEREFORE HAVE GONE WITH A 30
POP MTNS...20 POP ELSEWHERE FOR AFT/EVE CONVECTION SAT AND AGAIN
SUN. TRENDED TEMPS UP FROM PREV FCST THESE DAYS...BUT NOT AS HIGH AS
THE OPERATIONAL MOS SINCE THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE FROM THE PREV
FCST.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GSP  68  90  67  89 /  40  20  10  20
AND  67  91  67  90 /  30  20  10  20
CLT  67  91  66  90 /  40  20  20  20
HKY  67  89  64  89 /  40  30  20  30
AVL  59  85  60  85 /  40  30  20  30
&&

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

LANE/RWH
Hazardous weather outlook, May 23, 5:35 AM EDT, 13 hours 30 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
535 AM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-240934-
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-
535 AM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

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

.DAY ONE...

SCATTERED TO ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS
AFTERNOON OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. A FEW OF
THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...AND
LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINFALL. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST SPSGSP FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

SCATTERED TO ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP NEARLY EVERY AFTERNOON THIS WEEK. THE BEST COVERAGE WILL
LIKELY TAKE PLACE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 23, 6:02 PM EDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
602 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

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

0536 PM     HAIL             5 SE GASTON             33.76N 81.04W
05/23/2004  0.25 INCH        CALHOUN            SC   AMATEUR RADIO

            QUARTER-SIZED HAIL REPORTED IN THE STAGECOACH AREA OF
            SOUTHERN GASTON COUNTY. ALSO HAD 3 TO 4 INCH DIAMTER TREE
            LIMBS DOWN IN THE SAME AREA.

0536 PM     HAIL             5 SE GASTON             33.76N 81.04W
05/23/2004  1.00 INCH        CALHOUN            SC   AMATEUR RADIO

            QUARTER-SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED IN THE STAGECOACH AREA OF
            SOUTHERN GASTON COUNTY. ALSO HAD 3 TO 4 INCH DIAMTER
            LIMBS DOWN IN THE SAME AREA.

&&

DEO
Local storm report, May 23, 6:02 PM EDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED TO REMOVE FIRST PART
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
602 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

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

0536 PM     HAIL             5 SE GASTON             33.76N 81.04W
05/23/2004  1.00 INCH        GASTON             NC   AMATEUR RADIO

            QUARTER-SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED IN THE STAGECOACH AREA OF
            SOUTHERN GASTON COUNTY. ALSO HAD 3 TO 4 INCH DIAMTER
            LIMBS DOWN IN THE SAME AREA.

&&

DEO
Local storm report, May 23, 6:29 PM EDT, 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
629 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

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

0600 PM     TSTM WND DMG     10 E GASTONIA           35.25N 80.99W
05/23/2004                   MECKLENBURG        NC   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            TREES ON POWER LINES IN MOUNT HOLLY.

&&

DEO
Local storm report, May 23, 6:29 PM EDT, 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED FOR COUNTY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
629 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

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

0600 PM     TSTM WND DMG     10 E GASTONIA           35.25N 80.99W
05/23/2004                   GASTON             NC   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            TREES ON POWER LINES IN MOUNT HOLLY.

&&

DEO
Special weather statement, May 23, 6:30 PM EDT, 35 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
630 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

NCZ057-072-232330-
CABARRUS-ROWAN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CONCORD...SALISBURY
630 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TO AFFECT CABARRUS AND ROWAN COUNTIES
THROUGH 730 PM...

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE NORTHEAST FROM CROFT TO CONCORD
THROUGH 7 PM...AND THEN AFFECT THE SOUTHEASTERN PART OF ROWAN
COUNTY...NEAR ROCKWELL BY 730 PM. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND MAY BE ACCOMPANIED
BY SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS TO 40 MPH.

HG
Special weather statement, May 23, 6:57 PM EDT, 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
657 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

NCZ057-072-232330-
CABARRUS-ROWAN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CONCORD...SALISBURY
657 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT EASTERN CABARRUS AND
ROWAN COUNTIES UNTIL 730 PM...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED NUMEROUS STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH FROM CONCORD TOWARD
ROCKWELL. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY BE ACCOMPANIED BY WIND
GUSTS TO 40 MPH AND PEA SIZED HAIL. WIND GUSTS OF THIS MAGNITUDE WILL
LIKELY BLOWN DOWN SMALL LIMBS.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS WATCHING THESE THUNDERSTORMS CLOSELY
IN CASE A WARNING BECOMES NECESSARY.

HG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 22, 8:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPBuncombe54 min
May 23, 1:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPCaldwell65 min
May 23, 2:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMcDowell42 min
May 23, 3:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMadison52 min
May 23, 5:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGaston45 min
May 23, 5:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPDavie42 min
May 23, 5:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPMecklenburg56 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.