Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 15, 2008Union County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Mar 15, 2008, 3:49 PM EDT for Union County, North Carolina. It was in force for 26 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Mar 15, 2008, 3:49 PM EDT (19:49 UTC)
Expired: Mar 15, 2008, 4:15 PM EDT
In force: 26 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Union County, NC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 149 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:50 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 15, 3:50 PM EDT	HAIL 0.88	New Salem, NC	3/4 INCH TO 7/8 INCH DIAMETER HAIL REPORTED.
Mar 15, 4:00 PM EDT	HAIL 0.75	New Salem, NC
Mar 15, 4:09 PM EDT	HAIL 1.75	5 Se Oakboro, NC	GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL IN NORTHERN ANSON COUNTY ON THOMAS ROAD...REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 114 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1308 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 34 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KGSP 151949
TORGSP
NCC179-152015-
/O.NEW.KGSP.TO.W.0009.080315T1949Z-080315T2015Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
349 PM EDT SAT MAR 15 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN UNION COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 415 PM EDT

* AT 348 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 9 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF MONROE...OR ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NEW SALEM...
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  NEW SALEM AROUND 355 PM EDT...

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 3504 8028 3502 8047 3511 8050 3518 8046
      3517 8040 3518 8039 3518 8032 3520 8028
      3519 8026
TIME...MOT...LOC 1949Z 241DEG 35KT 3509 8043

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS52 KGSP 151959
SVSGSP

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
359 PM EDT SAT MAR 15 2008

NCC179-152015-
/O.CON.KGSP.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-080315T2015Z/
UNION NC-
359 PM EDT SAT MAR 15 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 415 PM EDT FOR
NORTHEASTERN UNION COUNTY IN THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA...

AT 358 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR NEW SALEM...OR
ABOUT 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF MONROE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

LAT...LON 3510 8029 3507 8032 3506 8036 3516 8044
      3518 8039 3518 8032 3520 8028 3519 8026
TIME...MOT...LOC 1959Z 239DEG 38KT 3514 8033

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 15, 3:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Union	38 min
Mar 15, 3:46 PM EDT	Lake Wind Advisory	GSP	Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Graham, Haywood and 11 more	18 hr
Mar 15, 4:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mecklenburg, Union	66 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.