Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2011

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 390, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

June 16, 2011Polk County, Rutherford County, North Carolina; Spartanburg County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 16, 2011, 5:40 PM EDT for Polk County, Rutherford County, North Carolina; Spartanburg County, South Carolina. It was in force for 50 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
Jun 16, 2011, 5:40 PM EDT (21:40 UTC)
Expired
Jun 16, 2011, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Polk County, NC, Rutherford County, NC, Spartanburg County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:42 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 305 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2011-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 179 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2011-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 111 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
179 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-300 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1016 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
111 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Jun 16, 4:37 PM EDT, 1 hour 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 16, 4:37 PM EDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
437 PM EDT THU JUN 16 2011

.SYNOPSIS...
A STATIONARY FRONT WILL LINGER OVER OUR AREA INTO THE WEEKEND AND
THEN LIFT NORTH AS A WARM FRONT EARLY IN THE UPCOMING WEEK.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/...
A QUICK UPDATE TO TAKE CARE OF AN INTERNET PROBLEM AND TO TWEAK NEAR
TERM TEMP AND POP TRENDS.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
WITH A DRIER LOW LEVEL AIRMASS AND WARMER TEMPS ALOFT MOVING INTO
THE WRN ZONES...AS WELL AS INCREASING NVA PER THE RUC...THE CU FIELD
HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DIMINISHING WITH TIME OVER THE HIGH TERRAIN.
HOWEVER...SPC/S MESOANALYSIS PAGE STILL SHOWS A GOOD AMOUNT OF CAPE
OVER THE SW ZONES. THE WRF-ARW AND NMM WORKSTATION MODELS DON/T SHOW
ANYTHING MUCH WEST OF CLT THIS EVENING. SO DESPITE THE
INSTABILITY...POPS WILL BE KEPT UNDER SLIGHT CHANCE OVER THE SW AND
CENTRAL MTNS...NE GA AND WRN UPSTATE. AN ISOLATED TSTM MAY STILL
FIRE OUT THAT MAY...BUT CONVECTION WILL BE QUITE ISOLATED. FARTHER
TO THE EAST...WHILE THERE ISN/T YET A CU FIELD OVER THE WRN PIEDMONT
OF NC AND THE NW SC PIEDMONT...THESE AREAS WILL BE MOST UNSTABLE
DURING THE LATE AFTN AND EVENING HOURS...AND THE HIGHEST POPS WILL
REMAIN IN THIS AREA. EVEN THESE LOCATIONS...HOWEVER...WILL BE HELD
UNDER 40 PERCENT.

THE SREF AND OPERATIONAL GFS SHOW DRIER AREA MOVING ACROSS THE FA
OVERNIGHT...AND TO A LESSER EXTENT THE NAM. THIS DRY AIR WILL SETTLE
EAST OF THE MTNS ON FRI. THE SREF PROBABILITIES OF CAPES VALUES IN
EXCESS OF 1000 J/KG ARE VERY LOW OVER THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT.
MODEL SOUNDINGS ON THE GFS SHOW A MIXED LAYER DEPTH OVER 10KFT WITH
ONLY SOME SHALLOW CAPE LIFTING ABOVE THIS LAYER. THE NAM DRIVES WHAT
APPEARS TO BE A SPURIOUS MCS ACROSS THE FA IN THE MORNING WHICH
PRETTY MUCH RUINS THE MOISTURE FIELDS THE REST OF THE DAY. FOLLOWING
THE GFS/SREF SOLUTION...I HAVE LOW POPS EAST OF THE MTNS...GENERALLY
SLIGHT CHANCE OR LESS...WITH ONLY LOW CHANCE POPS OVER THE HIGH
TERRAIN. IT WILL BE HOTTER TMRW WITH HIGHS REACHING THE L90S OUTSIDE
THE MTNS.

&&

.SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/...
AS OF 250 PM THURSDAY...SHORT WAVES WILL PASS NORTH OF OUR REGION
THROUGH THE SHORT RANGE AND MAINLY THE MOUNTAINS WILL GET SOME
EFFECTS OF THIS FLOW.  CONTINUE TO EXPECT DIURNAL CONVECTION WITH
CHANCE POPS FOR THE NC MOUNTAINS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVEN GREATER
COVERAGE ON SUNDAY FOR THE NC MOUNTAINS TO THE NW PIEDMONT.  MODELS
SUGGEST STRONGER ENERGY COMING ACROSS KENTUCKY LATE SUNDAY.  THIS IS
SHOWN MOST PROMINENT ON THE GFS AND TO A LOWER MAGNITUDE ON THE
OTHER MODELS.  AS THE HEIGHTS SLOWLY RISE FROM THE LOWER MID
SOUTH...THE TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO RISE ACCORDINGLY. HEIGHTS WILL
CONTINUE TO RISE AS THE UPCOMING WEEK BEGINS.

&&

.LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/...
AS OF 1200 PM THURSDAY...THE LATEST MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE REMAINS IN
GOOD AGREEMENT AND IS CONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUS THINKING WITH RESPECT
TO THE PATTERN ACRS THE REGION FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE SYNOPTIC
SCALE FEATURE OF INTEREST IS EXPECTED TO BE THE EASTWARD PROGRESSION
OF...AND THE BUILDING OF UPPER RIDGING ATOP THE SE CONUS MONDAY AND
TUESDAY. THIS WILL ALLOW PIEDMONT MAX TEMPERATURES TO REMAIN IN THE
MID 90S EACH DAY. SCATTERED DIURNALLY FIRED TSTMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE
ON MONDAY...PERHAPS BECOMING MORE ISOLATED ON TUESDAY.

IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN TO WHAT DEGREE AND HOW QUICKLY SE CONUS UPPER
RIDGE GIVES WAY TO LOWER HEIGHTS ENCROACHING FROM THE CENTRAL CONUS
AS THE WEEK WEARS ON...BUT WILL TREND SLOWLY LESS HOT EACH DAY
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH DAILY...MAINLY DIURNAL CLIMO POP.

&&

.AVIATION /21Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
KCLT...WHILE THERE ARE ONLY A FEW CU AROUND NOW...SCT TSTMS ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE I-77 CORRIDOR LATER IN THE AFTN...AND
CB/S HAVE BEEN RETAINED IN THE TAF. WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE OUT OF
THE SOUTHWEST THE REST OF THE DAY.

ELSEWHERE...WINDS OVER THE FRENCH BROAD VALLEY WILL BE OUT OF THE
NORTH THE REST OF THE AFTN WITH SW WINDS ELSEWHERE. THE GRADIENT
OVER THE REGION WEAKENS SOME..BUT WIND SPEEDS WILL BE CLOSE TO 10
KTS AT TIMES OVER THE UPSTATE. SCT TSTMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
OVER THE NC FOOTHILLS LATER IN THE AFTN AND CB/S HAVE BEEN RETAINED
AT KHKY. THE AIRMASS LOOKS TOO STABLE FOR TSTMS ELSEWHERE. WITH
DRIER AIR MOVING INTO THE REGION TONIGHT...NOT LOOKING FOR LOW
CLOUDS AND JUST A FEW POCKETS OF FOG NEAR BODIES OF WATER.

OUTLOOK...A WEAK RIDGE WILL SETUP OVER THE REGION ON FRI. A FEW
TSTMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE MTNS WITH FAIR WX ELSEWHERE. A
PATTERN OF DIURNAL SCATTERED CONVECTION EACH AFTN AND EVENING WILL
SET UP THROUGH THE OUTLOOK PERIOD...WITH PATCHY FOG AROUND DAYBREAK
EACH DAY.

&&

.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

&&

SYNOPSIS...DEO
NEAR TERM...MCAVOY/PM
SHORT TERM...DEO
LONG TERM...CSH
AVIATION...MCAVOY
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 16, 2:46 PM EDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
246 PM EDT THU JUN 16 2011

GAZ018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-056-057-068>072-082-501>510-
SCZ001>014-019-171900-
STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-ALEXANDER-IREDELL-DAVIE-CATAWBA-
ROWAN-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC-
CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE-
MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL-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-
246 PM EDT THU JUN 16 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT
NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
ACROSS THE REGION INTO THIS EVENING. GENERALLY...CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE
STORMS...ALTHOUGH ACROSS THE PIEDMONT....A FEW WILL HAVE THE
POSSIBILITY OF REACHING SEVERE LIMITS...PRODUCING HAIL UP TO THE
SIZE OF QUARTERS AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

NONE.

GAZ010-017-NCZ048>053-058-059-062>065-171900-
RABUN-HABERSHAM-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-
GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA-
HENDERSON-
246 PM EDT THU JUN 16 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND WESTERN
NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 16, 5:26 PM EDT, 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
526 PM EDT THU JUN 16 2011

NCZ510-SCZ007-162200-
EASTERN POLK-SPARTANBURG-
526 PM EDT THU JUN 16 2011

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT NORTHERN SPARTANBURG AND
SOUTHEASTERN POLK COUNTIES THROUGH 600 PM EDT...

AT 525 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTH OF FINGERVILLE...OR 10 MILES EAST
OF COLUMBUS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

PEA SIZE HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.

LAT...LON 3525 8196 3519 8197 3518 8188 3509 8201
      3522 8217 3529 8202

NED

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 16, 5:26 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPPolk34 min
Jun 15, 8:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPAbbeville, Greenwood46 min
Jun 16, 6:37 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPSpartanburg23 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2011Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Carolina, 2011Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2011

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.