Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 68, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 31, 2004, 5:08 AM EDT for Mitchell County, Yancey County, North Carolina. 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
- May 31, 2004, 5:08 AM EDT (09:08 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 2004, 6:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 52 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Mitchell County, NC, Yancey County, NC
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:09 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1:40 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 208 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
- 504 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1119 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 149 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 1.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WUUS52 KGSP 310908
SVRGSP
NCC121-199-311000-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
508 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
MITCHELL COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
YANCEY COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
* UNTIL 600 AM EDT
* AT 508 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 4 MILES NORTH OF JOHNSON CITY TO 10 MILES
NORTHEAST OF MARSHALL...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
BULADEAN AROUND 510 AM EDT.
BURNSVILLE AROUND 515 AM EDT.
MICAVILLE AROUND 520 AM EDT.
CELO AROUND 525 AM EDT.
SPRUCE PINE AROUND 530 AM EDT.
ALTHOUGH TORNADOES HAVE NOT BEEN DETECTED WITH THIS LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT. TORNADOES CAN DEVELOP
WITHOUT WARNING FROM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.
LAT...LON 3610 8208 3595 8204 3589 8198 3579 8221
3583 8242 3597 8250 3611 8237 3614 8217
$$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 31, 2:43 AM EDT, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 2:43 AM EDT, 2 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 243 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004 .SHORT TERM... CONVECTIVE LINE STRETCHES FROM JUST EAST OF OHX TO NEAR JKL THIS MORNING WITH TORNADO WATCH CURRENTLY IN PLACE ACROSS THE WESTERN CWFA. SHEAR PROFILES STEADILY INCREASE THIS MORNING WITH 850 MB WINDS PROGGED TO REACH 50 KT TOWARD 12Z AS FLOW GOES MORE UNIDIRECTIONAL. SLIGHT TIMING DIFFS CONT TO EXIST WITH MCS MOVING THROUGH REGION THIS MORNING...WITH THE GFS FEATURING FASTER TIMING. ETA FIELDS HAVE INITIALIZED FAIRLY WELL THIS MORNING...HOWEVER...AND SLIGHTLY SLOWER TIMING MEANS EASTERN PIEDMONT SECTIONS COULD REALIZE IMPROVED INSTABILITY BEFORE SURFACE COLD POOL MOVES THROUGH TODAY. WILL FEATURE HIGHEST POPS WEST EARLY TO LOWEST EAST AND THEN REVERSE THE PATTERN FOR THIS AFTERNOON. FAIRLY DEEP DRYING SHOULD THEN SET IN ACROSS THE WRN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA AS AREA IS CAUGHT BETWEEN DEEP ROTATING VORTEX ACROSS THE NRN CONUS AND MOIST BOUNDARY SOUTH OF THE REGION THROUGH TUE. MOISTURE WILL THEN STEADILY RECOVER THROUGH WED WITH ETA FEATURING NEXT SHOT OF UPPER DYNAMICS ROTATING IN FROM GREAT LAKES LOW BY LATE IN THE DAY. .LONG TERM... PATTERN REMAINS UNSETTLED THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK AS ERN TROUGH DEEPENS THROUGH FRI. NO CHANGES ARE ANTICIPATED TO THE REMAINDER OF THE MEDIUM RANGE AT THIS TIME. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GSP 83 62 86 63 / 60 20 10 10 AND 84 62 86 64 / 60 20 10 10 CLT 86 62 87 64 / 50 20 10 10 HKY 83 59 84 61 / 60 20 10 10 AVL 78 57 81 57 / 70 20 20 10 && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && HG
Hazardous weather outlook, May 30, 5:21 AM EDT, 23 hours 47 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 521 AM EDT SUN MAY 30 2004 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-310920- 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- 521 AM EDT SUN MAY 30 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA TODAY. COVERAGE OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE GREATEST IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT OVER THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY LATE TODAY AND THEN SWEEP EAST ACROSS TENNESSEE OVERNIGHT. ANY REMNANTS FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY REACH THE APPALACHIANS AROUND DAYBREAK ON MEMORIAL DAY. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS COULD FORM EASTWARD ACROSS THE PIEDMONT DURING THE DAY MONDAY ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF THIS DISTURBANCE. ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER...MAINLY IN THE FORM OF DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...COULD BE POSSIBLE MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS UNLIKELY TODAY...BUT MAY BE REQUIRED ON MEMORIAL DAY. HG
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 31, 3:30 AM EDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
330 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0310 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 N WAYNESVILLE 35.56N 83.00W
05/31/2004 HAYWOOD NC TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER REPORTS SEVERAL TREES SNAPPED AND POWER OUTAGES
DUE TO ESTIMATED 60 TO 70 MPH WIND GUST.
&&
HGSpecial weather statement, May 31, 4:01 AM EDT, 1 hour 7 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 401 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004 GAZ010-017-NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-SCZ001>003-310958- AVERY NC-BUNCOMBE NC-GRAHAM NC-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS SC-HABERSHAM GA- HAYWOOD NC-HENDERSON NC-MACON NC-MADISON NC-MITCHELL NC- NORTHERN JACKSON NC-OCONEE MOUNTAINS SC-PICKENS MOUNTAINS SC- RABUN GA-SOUTHERN JACKSON NC-SWAIN NC-TRANSYLVANIA NC-YANCEY NC- 401 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004 ...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTING THE MOUNTAINS OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA... AT 401 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH INTO THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE AT ANY MOMENT...AND A FEW COULD BECOME TORNADIC. MOST AFFECTED THROUGH 6 AM WILL BE LOCATIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40...ESPECIALLY FROM THE SMOKIES TO FRANKLIN TO CLAYTON. WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH NEARLY ANY THUNDERSTORM. HG
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2:55 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Haywood | 50 min |
| May 31, 3:11 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Haywood | 34 min |
| May 31, 3:20 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Swain | 40 min |
| May 31, 3:45 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Haywood | 45 min |
| May 31, 4:37 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Graham | 38 min |
| May 31, 4:46 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Swain | 59 min |
| May 31, 5:00 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Macon | 45 min |
| May 31, 5:26 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Buncombe | 49 min |
| May 31, 7:43 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Gaston, Mecklenburg | 47 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.