Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Wilmington, NC

August 12, 2004Horry County, South Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Aug 12, 2004, 2:02 PM EDT for Horry County, South Carolina. It was in force for 28 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 12, 2004, 2:02 PM EDT (18:02 UTC)
Expired
Aug 12, 2004, 2:30 PM EDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Horry County, SC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:02 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 12, 11:45 AM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 145 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2004-08-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3311 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2004-08-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 117 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
3311 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
489 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
117 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
10.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS52 KILM 121802
TORILM
SCC051-121830-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
202 PM EDT THU AUG 12 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  HORRY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 230 PM EDT

* AT 157 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR CONWAY...OR
  OVER CONWAY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   NIXONVILLE BY 225 PM...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

IF YOU OBSERVED SEVERE WEATHER OR WEATHER RELATED DAMAGE...REPORT IT
TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND ASK THEM TO RELAY THE
REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN WILMINGTON
NC.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 PM EDT THURSDAY EVENING
FOR SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA.

LAT...LON 3386 7913 3367 7906 3380 7850 3397 7871

$$

CRM

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 12, 1:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMWilliamsburg57 min
Aug 12, 1:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMDillon49 min
Aug 12, 1:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMHorry53 min
Aug 12, 2:01 PM EDTTornado WarningILMMarlboro29 min
Aug 12, 2:07 PM EDTTornado WarningILMDillon53 min
Aug 12, 2:32 PM EDTTornado WarningILMHorry43 min

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.