Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2004
Tornado Warning 24, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Dec 9, 2004, 11:49 PM EST for Anderson County, South Carolina. It was in force for 41 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
- Dec 9, 2004, 11:49 PM EST (04:49 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 10, 2004, 12:30 AM EST
- In force
- 41 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Anderson County, SC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:51 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 tornado 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, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 224 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
- 976 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -10 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 568 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 60 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 246 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 243 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.5
- Supercell composite
- 5.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WFUS52 KGSP 100449 TORGSP SCC007-100530- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1149 PM EST THU DEC 9 2004 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... ANDERSON COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA * UNTIL 1230 AM EST * AT 1143 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR HONEA PATH...OR ABOUT 13 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ANDERSON...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME OR BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. STAY AWAY FROM DOORS AND WINDOWS. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 AM EST FRIDAY MORNING FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. LAT...LON 3449 8256 3436 8249 3448 8232 3455 8241 $$ NED
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Dec 9, 9:54 PM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 9, 9:54 PM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
954 PM EST THU DEC 9 2004
.SHORT TERM (REST OF TONIGHT)...
WILL UPDATE FOR TORNADO WATCH #918 UNTIL 3 AM FOR PORTIONS OF NE GA
AND THE UPSTATE. WARM FRONT DEPICTED ON LAPS RUNS FROM ANDERSON
TO LAURENS TO NEWBERRY ATTM. VERY IMPRESSIVE AIR IS BUILDING
BEHIND THE FRONT WILL KGRD SURGING TO 67 OVER 64. CAPES ESTIMATED
BY LAPS RANGE FROM 300-1400 J/KG WILL LLVL HELICITIES AROUND 300
M2/S2 AND SWEAT >400. AS THE WARM FRONT SLOWLY OVERTAKES THE CAD
AREA THE TOR/SVR THREAT WILL MOVE NORTH WITH IT. IN ADDITION...
STORMS HAVE TRAINED ACROSS THE REGION ALONG AND WEST OF I-85. PW
OVER 1.2 AND K-INDEX OVER 35 WILL EXPECT SOME FLOODING PROBLEMS.
DENSE FOG ADVISORY WILL REMAIN...SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS.
&&
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
THE FOLLOWING WAS ORIGINALLY ISSUED AT 628 PM EST THU DEC 9 2004
SHORT TERM (REST OF TONIGHT)...
LATEST SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT THE WARM FRONT HAS ADVANCED AS FAR
NORTH AS THE UPPER SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY. AHEAD OF THE
FRONT...CONDITIONS ARE RIPE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DENSE FOG THIS
EVENING AND TONIGHT. AS THE IN SITU WEDGE WEAKENS AND IS DISPLACED
FURTHER NORTH...THE BL WILL REMAIN VERY MOIST AND STABLE OVERNIGHT.
ATTM PATCHY DENSE FOG HAS BEEN OBSERVED ACROSS THE PIEDMONT OF THE
CAROLINAS. MESOETA SFC CONDENSATION PRESSURE DEFICITS REMAIN LESS
THAN A MB OVER THE NC FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT THROUGH 12Z...WILL
EXPECT WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG TO DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT.
ELSEWHERE...THE LLVLS WILL REMAIN WARM AND MOIST
OVERNIGHT...HOWEVER...SFC WINDS SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT AND AHEAD OF
THE COLD FRONT MAY KEEP THE BL MIXED ENOUGH TO LIMIT WIDESPREAD
DENSE FOG. HAVE ISSUED A DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR THE NC COUNTIES EAST
OF THE MTNS AND THE EXTREME NRN TIER OF THE SC UPSTATE THROUGH 8 AM
TO HIGHLIGHT. NEW 18Z MAV...DOES ADVERTISE AT LEAST A PERIOD OF
DENSE FOG AT MOST STATIONS...WHICH LOOKS GOOD. WILL ADD PATCHY DENSE
FOG TO THE AREAS OUTSIDE THE WATCH TO THE GRIDS.
THE REST OF THE FORECAST LOOKS GOOD AND WILL LEAVE IT BE. IF NEEDED
WILL COMPLETE ANOTHER UPDATE TO THE FORECAST LATER THIS EVENING.
THE FOLLOWING WAS ORIGINALLY ISSUED AT 240 PM EST THU DEC 9 2004
&&
.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...TORNADO WATCH FOR ZONES GAZ026-028-029 UNTIL 3 AM EST.
NC...DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR ZONES NCZ034-035-037-038-054>057-
066>072-082 TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING.
SC...TORNADO WATCH FOR ZONES SCZ010>014-019 UNTIL 3 AM EST.
...DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR ZONES SCZ008-009-014 TONIGHT AND FRIDAY
MORNING.
&&
SHORT TERM (UPDATE)...NEDHazardous weather outlook, Dec 9, 3:10 PM EST, 8 hours 39 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 310 PM EST THU DEC 9 2004 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-101100- 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- 310 PM EST THU DEC 9 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE... SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS WILL LINGER THROUGH TONIGHT. HEAVY SHOWERS AND PERHAPS A THUNDERSTORM WILL BE SEEN AS WELL. HEAVY RAIN EARLIER TODAY WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN HIGH WATER CONDITIONS IN A FEW SPOTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE ON FRIDAY. AS COLD AIR FILTERS INTO THE REGION BEHIND THE COLD FRONT...THE RAIN SHOWERS WILL TRANSITION TO SNOW SHOWERS IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE MOUNTAINS FRIDAY NIGHT. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH NORTHWEST FLOW ON SATURDAY. THESE SNOW SHOWERS WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE AS THE MOISTURE FEED DECREASES TOWARD THE END OF THE DAY. THE LAST LOCATIONS TO SEE SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE IN THE TENNESSEE BORDER LOCATIONS SATURDAY NIGHT. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE EXPECTED SNOWFALL...SEE CAESPSGSP. SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ARE AGAIN POSSIBLE IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS ON MONDAY. NEXT WEEK WILL HAVE MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Dec 9, 7:51 PM EST, 3 hours 58 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 751 PM EST THU DEC 9 2004 GAZ026-028-029-SCZ010>012-019-100900- ABBEVILLE SC-ANDERSON SC-ELBERT GA-FRANKLIN GA-GREENWOOD SC-HART GA- LAURENS SC- 751 PM EST THU DEC 9 2004 ...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK... A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE GRADUALLY NORTHWARD OVER THE SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY AND INTO THE UPSTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA THROUGH LATE TONIGHT. THE AIR MASS TO THE SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT WILL BE SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE OVERNIGHT WITH MUCH WARMER AND MORE HUMID AIR AT THE SURFACE. WIND SHEAR WILL ALSO INCREASE LATER THIS EVENING. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP IN THE AIR MASS TO THE SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT OVERNIGHT. THERE IS A SMALL POSSIBILITY THAT A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE SEVERE WEATHER IN FORM OF WIND DAMAGE OR AN ISOLATED TORNADO...GIVEN THE EXPECTED STRENGTH OF THE WIND SHEAR. WHAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IS HOW FAR NORTH THE WARM FRONT WILL MOVE OVERNIGHT...WHICH IS KEY TO THE SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL FOR EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE LOWER PIEDMONT REGION OF SOUTH CAROLINA. PRESENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT THE WARM FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM ELBERTON TO ABBEVILLE AND GREENWOOD BY LATE TONIGHT. THUS...A POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT BOUNDARY...INTO THE AREA FROM HARTWELL TO ANDERSON AND LAURENS...THROUGH LATE TONIGHT. SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO ACTIVATE QUICKLY LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. DISPATCHERS SHOULD ENSURE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE AWARE OF THIS INFORMATION. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION OR SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES OR WARNINGS. MOORE
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 9, 10:05 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Greenville | 3 hr |
| Dec 9, 10:48 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Anderson | 42 min |
| Dec 9, 11:11 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Anderson, Pickens | 3 hr |
| Dec 9, 11:18 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Spartanburg | 3 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes 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.