Alert archive / South Carolina / Special Weather Statements in 2012

Special Weather Statement, NWS Columbia, SC

September 18, 2012Aiken County, Lexington County, South Carolina

NWS Columbia, SC issued this special weather statement at Sep 18, 2012, 8:38 AM EDT for Aiken County, Lexington County, South Carolina. It was in force for 52 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: Sep 18, 2012, 8:38 AM EDT (12:38 UTC)
Expired: Sep 18, 2012, 9:30 AM EDT
In force: 52 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC

Counties Aiken County, SC, Lexington County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 24 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:38 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, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 144 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: 1687 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 620 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 135 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 147 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.8
Supercell composite: 5.1

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 Sep 18, 7:55 AM EDT, 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 18, 7:55 AM EDT, 43 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 18, 4:15 AM EDT, 4 hours 23 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
415 AM EDT TUE SEP 18 2012

GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-190815-
LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD-
MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON-
RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON-
BAMBERG-
415 AM EDT TUE SEP 18 2012

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY. A FEW
STORMS MAY PRODUCE STRONG WINDS. ALSO...SOME HEAVY RAINFALL
MAY LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

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, Sep 18, 8:38 AM EDT, 0 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
838 AM EDT TUE SEP 18 2012

SCZ027-028-030-035-036-181330-
AIKEN-BARNWELL-LEXINGTON-ORANGEBURG-RICHLAND-
838 AM EDT TUE SEP 18 2012

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF LEXINGTON...
RICHLAND...AIKEN...ORANGEBURG AND BARNWELL COUNTIES THROUGH 930 AM
EDT...

AT 833 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM...6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NEW ELLENTON...MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED INCLUDE...
CAYCE...COLUMBIA...GASTON...LEXINGTON...NEW ELLENTON...OAK GROVE...
PINE RIDGE...RED BANK...SOUTH CONGAREE...SPRINGDALE...WEST COLUMBIA
AND WILLISTON...

PREPARE NOW FOR THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS...
GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...

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 3340 8183 3412 8125 3392 8086 3384 8095
      3385 8098 3388 8100 3387 8104 3379 8105
      3377 8101 3378 8105 3375 8106 3376 8102
      3322 8159
TIME...MOT...LOC 1235Z 216DEG 40KT 3336 8162

HC

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 18, 10:04 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CAE	Edgefield, McCormick	56 min
Sep 18, 11:25 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CAE	Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Saluda	80 min
Sep 18, 11:43 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CAE	Aiken, Calhoun	62 min
Sep 18, 1:46 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CAE	Clarendon, Sumter	59 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.