Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 812
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 8, 2004, 12:30 AM EDT for 7 counties in Georgia; 37 counties in North Carolina; 40 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 8, 2004, 12:30 AM EDT (04:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 8, 2004, 7:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 84 counties
Bulloch County, GA, Burke County, GA, Candler County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Screven County, GA, Alexander County, NC, Anson County, NC, Avery County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Burke County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Caldwell County, NC, Catawba County, NC, Chatham County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Davidson County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Iredell County, NC, Johnston County, NC, Lee County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, McDowell County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Mitchell County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Polk County, NC, Randolph County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Rutherford County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Union County, NC, Wayne County, NC, Aiken County, SC, Allendale County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Beaufort County, SC, Berkeley County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Florence County, SC, Georgetown County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Horry County, SC, Jasper County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Lee County, SC, Lexington County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Richland County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Sumter County, SC, Union County, SC, Williamsburg County, SC, York County, SC
The radar
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:30 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.
Warnings issued inside it
5 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8, 12:54 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GSP | Gaston | 6 hr |
| Sep 8, 1:58 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | CAE | Fairfield | 47 min |
| Sep 8, 4:39 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Hoke | 36 min |
| Sep 8, 5:02 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RAH | Hoke | 88 min |
| Sep 8, 6:10 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 35 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 173 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
- 2876 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 484 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 169 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 211 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 11.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 080431
SEL2
SPC WW 080430
NCZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-081100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 812
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1230 AM EDT WED SEP 8 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA
CENTRAL AND EASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 1230 AM UNTIL 700 AM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 130 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES SOUTH OF GREENVILLE SOUTH CAROLINA
TO 55 MILES EAST OF MYRTLE BEACH SOUTH CAROLINA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 811. WATCH NUMBER 811 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER
1230 AM EDT.
DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS EMBEDDED WITHIN RAINBANDS DEVELOPING EAST OF
THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION FRANCES WILL CONTINUE TO POSE A
THREAT FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 19030.
...DIAL/HART
360,0821 353,0775 314,0775 322,0821SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 10:09 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham, Effingham, Evans, Screven | 96 min |
| Sep 8, 3:38 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Effingham, Jenkins, Richmond and 1 more | 3 hr |
| Sep 8, 6:50 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Bladen, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham and 42 more | 7 hr |
| Sep 8, 8:41 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Bladen, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham and 44 more | 2 hr |
| Sep 8, 12:00 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Bladen, Caswell, Chatham, Cumberland, Duplin and 24 more | 2 hr |
| Sep 8, 12:50 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham and 30 more | 6 hr |
| Sep 8, 3:39 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bertie, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Greene, Halifax and 8 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2004Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2004Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2004Every tornado watch 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.