Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 4, 2008Polk County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Mar 4, 2008, 12:40 PM EST for Polk County, North 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: Mar 4, 2008, 12:40 PM EST (17:40 UTC)
Expired: Mar 4, 2008, 1:21 PM EST
In force: 41 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Polk County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 42 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:42 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 nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 229 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 76 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -44 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 578 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 281 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 331 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KGSP 041740
TORGSP
NCC149-041830-
/O.NEW.KGSP.TO.W.0002.080304T1740Z-080304T1830Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1240 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  POLK COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 130 PM EST

* AT 1240 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 5 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF COLUMBUS...OR ABOUT OVER TRYON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT
  50 MPH.

* THE TORNADO EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  COLUMBUS AROUND 1245 PM EST...
  LAKE ADGER AROUND 1250 PM EST...

MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR STURDIER SHELTER.
OTHERWISE...GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF YOUR HOME
OR PLACE OF BUSINESS. MAKE SURE THERE ARE AS MANY WALLS AND FLOORS
BETWEEN YOU AND THE OUTSIDE AS POSSIBLE.

TO REPORT TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...OR FLOODING...
THROUGH OUR AUTOMATED REPORTING SYSTEM...CALL OUR TOLL FREE NUMBER...
1 8 7 7...6 3 3...6 7 7 2.

LAT...LON 3539 8219 3539 8217 3525 8197 3519 8206
      3519 8230 3519 8231 3519 8233 3520 8235
      3522 8235
TIME...MOT...LOC 1740Z 212DEG 47KT 3521 8223

$$

HG

3 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS52 KGSP 041752
SVSGSP

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1251 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

NCC149-041830-
/O.CON.KGSP.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-080304T1830Z/
POLK NC-
1251 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 130 PM EST FOR POLK
COUNTY...

AT 1251 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A POSSIBLE TORNADO.  THIS POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR 
COLUMBUS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

ANY TORNADO TOUCHDOWN COULD OCCUR NEAR MILL SPRING BY 1 PM EST.

MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR STURDIER SHELTER. 
OTHERWISE...GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF YOUR HOME 
OR PLACE OF BUSINESS. MAKE SURE THERE ARE AS MANY WALLS AND FLOORS 
BETWEEN YOU AND THE OUTSIDE AS POSSIBLE.

LAT...LON 3539 8219 3539 8217 3525 8197 3519 8206
      3519 8230 3519 8231 3519 8233 3520 8235
      3522 8235
TIME...MOT...LOC 1751Z 214DEG 39KT 3530 8216

$$
HG

000 
WWUS52 KGSP 041810
SVSGSP

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
110 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

NCC149-041830-
/O.CON.KGSP.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-080304T1830Z/
POLK NC-
110 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 130 PM EST FOR POLK
COUNTY...

AT 110 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A DEVELOPING TORNADO. THIS POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS LOCATED 5 
MILES SOUTHEAST OF MILL SPRING...OR ABOUT 7 MILES EAST OF 
COLUMBUS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR STURDIER SHELTER.
OTHERWISE...GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF YOUR HOME
OR PLACE OF BUSINESS. MAKE SURE THERE ARE AS MANY WALLS AND FLOORS
BETWEEN YOU AND THE OUTSIDE AS POSSIBLE.

LAT...LON 3539 8219 3539 8217 3525 8197 3519 8206
      3519 8230 3519 8231 3519 8233 3520 8235
      3522 8235
TIME...MOT...LOC 1810Z 221DEG 36KT 3529 8205

$$
HG

000 
WWUS52 KGSP 041821
SVSGSP

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
118 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

NCC149-041828-
/O.CAN.KGSP.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-080304T1830Z/
POLK NC-
118 PM EST TUE MAR 4 2008

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR POLK COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

AT 118 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT 
THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING STRONG CIRCULATION IN EASTERN POLK COUNTY 
HAD MOVED INTO SOUTHWEST RUTHERFORD COUNTY AND WEAKENED. THE TORNADO 
WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

IF YOU OBSERVED ANY WIND DAMAGE FROM THIS THUNDERSTORM...PLEASE 
REPORT IT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING OUR TOLL FREE 
NUMBER...1 8 0 0...2 6 7...8 1 0 1

LAT...LON 3539 8219 3539 8217 3525 8197 3519 8206
      3519 8230 3519 8231 3519 8233 3520 8235
      3522 8235
TIME...MOT...LOC 1818Z 221DEG 36KT 3535 8199

$$
HG

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 4, 3:24 AM EST	Lake Wind Advisory	GSP	Alexander, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell and 22 more	18 hr
Mar 4, 1:40 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	GSP	Transylvania	4 hr
Mar 4, 2:17 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Graham, Macon, Swain	88 min
Mar 4, 5:03 PM EST	Tornado Warning	GSP	Transylvania	28 min
Mar 4, 5:23 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Henderson	37 min
Mar 4, 5:58 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	McDowell, Polk, Rutherford	62 min
Mar 4, 6:47 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston and 1 more	73 min
Mar 4, 6:50 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg	70 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes in 2008

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.