Alert archive / South Carolina / Special Weather Statements in 2012

Special Weather Statement, NWS Columbia, SC

May 16, 2012Sumter County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this special weather statement at May 16, 2012, 5:46 PM EDT for Sumter County, South Carolina. It was in force for 29 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: May 16, 2012, 5:46 PM EDT (21:46 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2012, 6:15 PM EDT
In force: 29 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC

County Sumter County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:49 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

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 101 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: 1839 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 692 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 62 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

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What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this special weather statement went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Columbia, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this special weather statement went out at May 16, 5:20 PM EDT, 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 5:20 PM EDT, 26 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 16, 4:03 AM EDT, 13 hours 43 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
403 AM EDT WED MAY 16 2012

GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-170815-
LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD-
MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON-
RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON-
BAMBERG-
403 AM EDT WED MAY 16 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA AND
CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

A SURFACE FRONTAL BOUNDARY COMBINING WITH AN UPPER DISTURBANCE AND
AFTERNOON INSTABILITY COULD PRODUCE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN THREAT WOULD BE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND
HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 16, 4:21 PM EDT, 1 hour 25 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
421 PM EDT WED MAY 16 2012

SCZ015-162115-
LANCASTER-
421 PM EDT WED MAY 16 2012

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
THROUGH 515 PM EDT...

AT 420 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM...7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF IRWIN...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 10 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED INCLUDE...
ELGIN...IRWIN AND LANCASTER...

PREPARE NOW FOR THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS...
HEAVY RAINFALL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE ELEVATED LEVELS ON
SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS...AND PONDING OF WATER IN URBAN
AREAS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL AS OTHER POOR
DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.

REPORT LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS OR FLOODING TO YOUR COUNTY
SHERIFF...OR CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1...8 7
7...6 3 3...6 7 7 2.

&&

LAT...LON 3471 8063 3458 8075 3456 8086 3460 8090
      3462 8090 3478 8081
TIME...MOT...LOC 2020Z 247DEG 7KT 3460 8087

Special weather statement, May 16, 5:46 PM EDT, 0 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
546 PM EDT WED MAY 16 2012

SCZ031-162215-
SUMTER-
546 PM EDT WED MAY 16 2012

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF SUMTER COUNTY THROUGH
615 PM EDT...

AT 540 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM...NEAR PINEWOOD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 MPH.

PREPARE NOW FOR THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS...
GUSTY WINDS OF 30 MPH...
PEA SIZE HAIL...
HEAVY RAINFALL...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REPORT LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS OR FLOODING TO YOUR COUNTY
SHERIFF...OR CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1...8 7
7...6 3 3...6 7 7 2.

&&

LAT...LON 3371 8043 3373 8043 3373 8045 3371 8046
      3371 8048 3367 8049 3365 8053 3366 8055
      3368 8057 3368 8059 3382 8053 3381 8038
TIME...MOT...LOC 2146Z 219DEG 6KT 3373 8051

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 15, 8:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Richland, Sumter	46 min
May 15, 8:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Calhoun, Lexington	23 min
May 15, 9:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Calhoun, Richland	45 min
May 15, 10:21 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CAE	Aiken, Calhoun, Kershaw, Lexington, Richland, Sumter	114 min
May 16, 4:21 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CAE	Lancaster	54 min

Nearby

Special Weather Statements in South Carolina, 2012 Every special weather statement in 2012

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.