Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 50, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 20, 2009, 12:56 AM EDT for Oconee County, South Carolina. It was in force for 45 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 20, 2009, 12:56 AM EDT (04:56 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 20, 2009, 1:41 AM EDT
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
County Oconee County, SC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:58 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 12:42 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 203 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
- 182 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -11 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1004 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 212 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 248 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 1.0
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 19, 9:43 PM EDT, 3 hours 13 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 19, 9:43 PM EDT, 3 hours 13 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 943 PM EDT SUN APR 19 2009 .SYNOPSIS... AS LOW PRESSURE OVER THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY MOVES NORTHEAST...A TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL MOVE GRADUALLY EAST. THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA ON MONDAY AND OFF THE COAST BY TUESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK AND THEN MOVE OVER THE ATLANTIC BY THE END OF THE WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS THE STRONG UPPER VORTEX CHURNING THROUGH WRN TN THIS EVENING. THE 18Z NAM INITIALIZED THIS FEATURE WELL AND BRINGS THE AXIS OF BEST DVPA INTO THE SRN APPALACHIANS CIRCA 06Z...ALONG WITH IMPROVING UPPER JET DIVERGENCE. SHOWER COVERAGE SHOULD BE CATEGORICAL ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT. THE BEST PRE/FRONTAL CONVECTION UPSTREAM CONTINUES TO FIRE IN THE AREA OF HIGHEST 850 MB EQUIVALENT POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE OVER AL. THIS THETA E RIDGE IS EXPECTED TO PUSH EASTWARD AND CROSS THE SRN TIER OF THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT. DEWPOINTS HAVE ALREADY RISEN INTO THE UPPER 50S ACROSS MUCH OF THIS SRN SECTION. FORTUNATELY...IT APPEARS THAT 850 MB FLOW WILL VEER SLIGHTLY AS THE BETTER INSTABILITY AXIS MOVES IN LATE. THUS...AGREE WITH THE LATEST SPC OUTLOOK THAT SEVERE THREAT TO THE WEST MAY DIMINISH AS CONVECTION MOVES INTO THE FORECAST AREA. SRN MTN PRECIPITATION COULD BE HEAVY AT TIMES...BUT SHOULD BE BELOW CRITICAL GUIDANCE FOR ANY FLOODING. THE MAIN CHANGE WILL BE TO INCREASE THE THUNDER COVERAGE INTO THE CHANCE RANGE OVERNIGHT. THE COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION FROM THE WEST MONDAY. A DEEP DRY SLOT IS INDICATED WRAPPING INTO THE SW PART OF THE FORECAST AREA DURING FROPA...SO A TONGUE OF LOWER POPS WILL BE FEATURED IN THIS AREA BY MIDDAY. INSTABILITY SHOULD BE STRONGEST ALONG THE INTERSTATE 77 CORRIDOR MID TO LATE AFTERNOON...AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LOOK POSSIBLE GIVEN THE IMPROVING LAPSE RATES ALONG WITH THE ARRIVAL OF DRY AIR ALOFT IN THE PROFILES. MAX TEMPS WILL BE NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABV NORMAL E OF THE MTNS...AND AT OR SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL IN THE MTNS. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... AS OF 200 PM SUNDAY...THE PERIOD BEGINS MONDAY NIGHT WITH A MID AND UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE FA. THIS LOW IS EXPECTED TO MEANDER NORTHEASTWARD ON TUESDAY BEFORE BECOMING AN OPEN WAVE TUESDAY NIGHT. A TRAILING SHORTWAVE WILL DIVE DOWN THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE LOW ON TUESDAY...PUSHING A CHANNELED PIECE OF VORT ENERGY ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS. THE TROF AXIS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT...TRANSLATING EAST OF THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY. AT THE SURFACE...THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE ACROSS THE FA MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT WITH VERY LITTLE LOW LEVEL FORCING. THE MAIN PERIOD FOR SHOWER ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO BE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE UPPER SHORTWAVE AND ATTENDING VORT MAX MOVE ACROSS. HOWEVER...THE MAJORITY OF THE SHOWER ACTIVITY SHOULD REMAIN CONFINED TO THE MOUNTAINS AS A DRIER SUBCLOUD LAYER EXISTS IN THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. OVERALL...LOOKS TO BE A VERY LOW QPF EVENT WITH AT MOST A TENTH OF AN INCH EXPECTED. A PERIOD OF UPSLOPE FLOW WILL MOVE IN TUESDAY NIGHT IN THE CAA ALLOWING SNOW LEVELS TO FALL ACROSS THE NC MOUNTAINS. IN FACT...MODELS SHOW THAT MUCH OF THE FA WILL BE IN SUB FREEZING H85 TEMPS BY 12Z WEDNESDAY. GIVEN THE LIGHT PRECIP AND AT BEST SCATTERED COVERAGE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS...EXPECT ONLY A COUPLE TENTHS OF ACCUMULATION IN ISOLATED HIGHER ELEVATION LOCATIONS. ALSO...COULD BE SOME LIGHT FREEZE ISSUES AS ELEVATIONS ABOVE 4000 FEET OR SO DROP BELOW FREEZING. OVERALL...TEMPS WILL RUN 5-6 DEGREES BELOW CLIMO WITH CLOUD COVER AND CAA TUESDAY NIGHT. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... AS OF 1100 AM SUNDAY...THE OUTLOOK FOR THE MEDIUM RANGE IS TRANQUIL. THE TROF EXITS THE EASTERN CONUS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY AND RIDGING BEGINS TO BUILD IN FOR THE WEEKEND. THE BELT OF WESTERLIES GETS LIFTED WELL NORTH OF THE REGION LEAVING ONLY LIGHT MID AND UPPER LEVEL FLOW UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE BUILDING RIDGE. AT THE SURFACE...ANY SYSTEMS AND FRONTS ARE EXPECTED TO PASS BY THE NORTH WITH HIGH PRESSURE IN CONTROL OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC AND EASTERN SEABOARD. NO POPS ARE CARRIED IN THE FORECAST THROUGH SUNDAY. THE MAIN STORY WILL BE THE MILD TEMPERATURES. WE SHOULD SEE A GOOD 10-12 DEGREE WARMING TREND FROM THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. HIGHS START OUT ON THURSDAY AT OR JUST BELOW NORMAL...WARMING TO THE LOW 80S BY SUNDAY WHICH IS ABOUT 7-8 DEGREES ABOVE CLIMO. && .AVIATION /02Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... AT KCLT...A SLOWER TREND IS INDICATED IN THE DESCENT TOWARD MVFR CIGS ON THE LATEST MODEL PROFILES AND MOS SOURCES...WITH MVFR NOW INDICATED AFT 07Z. SHOWER COVERAGE WILL FILL IN...WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW INCREASING OVERNIGHT AND INSTABILITY SLOWLY IMPROVING WITH RISING DEWPOINTS. WILL ADVERTISE CB CLOUD TYPE AFTER 07Z...BUT THE BEST INSTABILITY WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL LATER IN THE PERIOD. CIGS WILL LIKELY RECOVER TO VFR CIRCA 14Z...THEN STEEP LAPSE RATES WILL PROVIDE THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDER AND CB CLOUDS AFTER 18Z. WINDS SHOULD GUST TO 20 KT OR BETTER ONCE MIXING KICKS IN MONDAY. ELSEWHERE...MVFR CIGS WILL PERSIST OR DEVELOP FROM KAVL TO KHKY FIRST THIS EVENING...WITH MVFR BECOMING LIKELY FROM KAND TO KGSP AFTER MIDNIGHT. SHOWER COVERAGE WILL STEADILY GROW OVERNIGHT...BUT INSTABILITY APPEARS LACKING FOR A SIGNIFICANT THUNDER THREAT. CB CLOUD TYPES MAY BE NEEDED ON LATER UPDATES. SOUTHERLY FLOW SHOULD BACK SLIGHTLY LATER THIS EVENING BEFORE TURNING SW AND BECOMING GUSTY WITH MIXING MONDAY MORNING. THE MIXING SHOULD ALLOW CIGS TO RECOVER TO VFR LEVELS. SOUNDINGS LOOK SLIGHTLY CAPPED TO DEEP CONVECTION WEST OF A KHKY TO KAND LINE...BUT CB CLOUDS ARE WARRANTED GIVEN THE ENCROACHING STEEPER LAPSE RATES ALOFT. FLOW WILL TURN NW LATE IN THE PERIOD WITH FROPA AT KAVL. OUTLOOK...SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL LIKELY PERSIST MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...ESPECIALLY NEAR KAVL...WITH A DEEP LOW PRESSURE TROUGH OVERHEAD. NO SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS ARE EXPECTED...EXCEPT TEMPO MVFR RESTRICTIONS ARE POSSIBLE AT KAVL IN MOIST NW FLOW. DRIER WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...TJB NEAR TERM...HG SHORT TERM...BSH LONG TERM...BSH AVIATION...HG
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 20, 12:50 AM EDT, 6 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1250 AM EDT MON APR 20 2009 GAZ017-018-026-028-029-NCZ056-068>071-507>510-SCZ001>014-019-210500- HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-CATAWBA-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN- GASTON-MECKLENBURG-RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS-GREATER RUTHERFORD- POLK MOUNTAINS-EASTERN POLK-OCONEE MOUNTAINS-PICKENS MOUNTAINS- GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS-GREATER OCONEE-GREATER PICKENS- GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-CHEROKEE-YORK-ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE- LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 1250 AM EDT MON APR 20 2009 ...TORNADO WATCH 177 IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EDT THIS MORNING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. TORNADO WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO FORWARD ANY REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADOES OR FLASH FLOODING TO OUR OFFICE. GAZ010-NCZ035>037-057-072-082-501>506-210500- RABUN-ALEXANDER-IREDELL-DAVIE-ROWAN-CABARRUS-UNION NC- CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE- MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL- 1250 AM EDT MON APR 20 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA AND WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE REGION FROM THE WEST. STRONG GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO FORWARD ANY REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADOES OR FLASH FLOODING TO OUR OFFICE. NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>064-210500- AVERY-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-GRAHAM- NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA- 1250 AM EDT MON APR 20 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE REGION FROM THE WEST. STRONG GUSTY WINDS BE EXPECTED WITH ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO FALL BELOW FREEZING BY WEDNESDAY MORNING IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS ABOVE 4000 FEET. A FREEZE WATCH MAY BE NEEDED ON MONDAY. AS TEMPERATURES FALL...LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS WILL CHANGE OVER TO SNOW...PRODUCING VERY LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. A DUSTING TO A FEW TENTHS OF AN INCH OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO FORWARD ANY REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADOES OR FLASH FLOODING TO OUR OFFICE. NCZ065-210500- HENDERSON- 1250 AM EDT MON APR 20 2009 ...TORNADO WATCH 177 IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EDT THIS MORNING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. TORNADO WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO FALL BELOW FREEZING BY WEDNESDAY MORNING IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS ABOVE 4000 FEET. A FREEZE WATCH MAY BE NEEDED ON MONDAY. AS TEMPERATURES FALL...LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS WILL CHANGE OVER TO SNOW...PRODUCING VERY LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. A DUSTING TO A FEW TENTHS OF AN INCH OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO FORWARD ANY REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADOES OR FLASH FLOODING TO OUR OFFICE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 20, 12:11 AM EDT, 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1211 AM EDT MON APR 20 2009 GAZ018-SCZ001-004-200500- GREATER OCONEE-OCONEE MOUNTAINS-STEPHENS- 1211 AM EDT MON APR 20 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT OCONEE AND STEPHENS COUNTIES THROUGH 100 AM EDT... AT 1209 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM LAKEMONT TO TOCCOA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL BE NEAR... LAKE HARTWELL BY 1220 AM EDT. WESTMINSTER BY 1225 AM EDT. WALHALLA BY 1230 AM EDT. SENECA BY 1235 AM EDT. LAKE KEOWEE BY 1240 AM EDT. WIND GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. KRENTZ
The office that day
Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 1:19 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Anderson, Pickens | 42 min |
| Apr 20, 12:18 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Habersham, Stephens | 57 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 2009Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2009
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.