Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

March 19, 2011Greenwood County, Laurens County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Mar 19, 2011, 5:42 PM EDT for Greenwood County, Laurens County, South Carolina. It was in force for 48 min. 7 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 19, 2011, 5:42 PM EDT (21:42 UTC)
Expired
Mar 19, 2011, 6:30 PM EDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Greenwood County, SC, Laurens County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:43 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 19, 5:47 PM EDTTSTM WND DMG7 Sw Laurens, SCTWO CEDAR TREES JUST UPROOTED. AS I ASKED FOR MORE INFORMATION WE WERE CUT OFF.
Mar 19, 5:47 PM EDTHAIL 0.887 Sw Laurens, SCTHE SPOTTER WITH THE TWO CEDAR TREES UPROOTED ALSO REPORTED NICKEL SIZED HAIL. THIS IS IN THE EKOM COMMUNITY.
Mar 19, 5:50 PM EDTTSTM WND DMGWaterloo, SCTREES DOWN IN THE ROAD IN THE VICINITY OF WATERLOO. SEVERAL VEHICULAR ACCIDENTS.
Mar 19, 5:53 PM EDTHAIL 0.75Waterloo, SCHAIL COVERED THE GROUND IN WATERLOO TWO INCHES DEEP. LARGEST HAIL AT THEIR LOCATION WAS DIME SIZED. BASED ON RADAR THE HAIL MAY HAVE LASTED AROUND 20 MINUTES ENDING BETWEEN 610 AND 615 PM.
Mar 19, 6:05 PM EDTHAIL 1.25Cross Hill, SCPUBLIC REPORT OF HAIL UP TO HALF DOLLAR SIZED LASTING FOR AT LEAST SEVERAL MINUTES IN CROSS HILL. BASED ON RADAR THE HAIL LIKELY LASTED TO AS LATE AS 625 PM.
Mar 19, 6:09 PM EDTTSTM WND DMGCross Hill, SCNUMEROUS TREES REPORTED DOWN FROM WATERLOO TO CROSS HILL
Mar 19, 6:15 PM EDTTORNADO2 Ssw Cross Hill, SCWEAK TORNADO CONFIRMED.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 243 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2011-03-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2011-03-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -34 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1888 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-18 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.

406 
WFUS52 KGSP 192142
TORGSP
SCC047-059-192230-
/O.NEW.KGSP.TO.W.0006.110319T2142Z-110319T2230Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
542 PM EDT SAT MAR 19 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN GREENWOOD COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...
  SOUTHWESTERN LAURENS COUNTY IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT

* AT 536 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 4 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF BOYD MILL POND...OR 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LAURENS...
  MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  WATERLOO...
  LAKE GREENWOOD AND CORONACA...
  CROSS HILL...
  DYSON AND NINETY SIX...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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 3405 8204 3439 8227 3441 8224 3444 8228
      3455 8208 3431 8184 3429 8188 3425 8190
      3420 8193 3414 8188
TIME...MOT...LOC 2142Z 321DEG 19KT 3441 8212

$$

JPT
1 follow-up statement
403 
WWUS52 KGSP 192213
SVSGSP

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
613 PM EDT SAT MAR 19 2011

SCC047-059-192230-
/O.CON.KGSP.TO.W.0006.000000T0000Z-110319T2230Z/
LAURENS SC-GREENWOOD SC-
613 PM EDT SAT MAR 19 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 PM EDT FOR
NORTHEASTERN GREENWOOD AND SOUTH CENTRAL LAURENS COUNTIES...

AT 606 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE THE FORMATION OF A TORNADO MAY BE POSSIBLE FROM THIS STORM. 
THE STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR CROSS HILL...OR 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF 
GREENWOOD...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO NINETY
SIX AND DYSON

LAT...LON 3410 8200 3433 8220 3450 8204 3431 8184
      3429 8188 3425 8190 3420 8193 3414 8188
TIME...MOT...LOC 2212Z 321DEG 19KT 3429 8200

$$

JPT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 2:40 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPPickens50 min
Mar 19, 3:03 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPOconee42 min
Mar 19, 3:07 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPGreenville38 min
Mar 19, 3:51 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPGreenville54 min
Mar 19, 3:54 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPSpartanburg66 min
Mar 19, 3:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPAnderson, Greenville, Laurens, Pickens61 min
Mar 19, 5:03 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPLaurens57 min
Mar 19, 5:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPGreenville, Laurens65 min
Mar 19, 6:30 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPGreenwood30 min
Mar 19, 7:20 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPOconee40 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 2011Every tornado warning in 2011Tornadoes 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.