Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Charleston, SC

August 31, 2015Dorchester County, South Carolina

NWS Charleston, SC issued this tornado warning at Aug 31, 2015, 2:12 AM EDT for Dorchester County, South Carolina. It was in force for 33 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: Aug 31, 2015, 2:12 AM EDT (06:12 UTC)
Expired: Aug 31, 2015, 2:45 AM EDT
In force: 33 min
Issued by: NWS Charleston, SC
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 0.0 in

County Dorchester County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:12 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 00:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 52 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: 119 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -66 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 876 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 115 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 302 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

544 
WFUS52 KCHS 310612
TORCHS
SCC035-310645-
/O.NEW.KCHS.TO.W.0004.150831T0612Z-150831T0645Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
212 AM EDT MON AUG 31 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  DORCHESTER COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA...

* UNTIL 245 AM EDT
    
* AT 212 AM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SAINT GEORGE...MOVING
  NORTH AT 25 MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO. 

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. 

  IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
           SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. 
           DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE 
           DAMAGE IS LIKELY. 

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  DORCHESTER AND HARLEYVILLE. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...IN A
MOBILE HOME...OR IN A VEHICLE...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL
SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

REPORT DAMAGE DIRECTLY TO THE CHARLESTON NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT
1-888-383-2024 WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.

&&

LAT...LON 3327 8047 3327 8045 3326 8043 3326 8041
      3322 8033 3321 8034 3319 8031 3305 8043
      3306 8046 3306 8051 3308 8056 3329 8049
TIME...MOT...LOC 0612Z 200DEG 23KT 3310 8049 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...0.00IN

$$

2 follow-up statements

191 
WWUS52 KCHS 310627
SVSCHS

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
227 AM EDT MON AUG 31 2015

SCC035-310645-
/O.CON.KCHS.TO.W.0004.000000T0000Z-150831T0645Z/
DORCHESTER SC-
227 AM EDT MON AUG 31 2015

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 245 AM EDT FOR
DORCHESTER COUNTY...
    
AT 226 AM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO
WAS LOCATED NEAR INDIAN FIELD...MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH.

HAZARD...TORNADO. 

SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. 

IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
         SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. DAMAGE 
         TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE DAMAGE IS 
         LIKELY. 

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
DORCHESTER AND HARLEYVILLE. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...IN A
MOBILE HOME...OR IN A VEHICLE...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL
SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 3327 8047 3327 8045 3326 8043 3326 8041
      3322 8033 3321 8034 3319 8031 3307 8041
      3307 8045 3308 8049 3308 8053 3329 8049
TIME...MOT...LOC 0626Z 200DEG 23KT 3316 8047 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...<.75IN

$$

765 
WWUS52 KCHS 310640
SVSCHS

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
240 AM EDT MON AUG 31 2015

SCC035-310649-
/O.EXP.KCHS.TO.W.0004.000000T0000Z-150831T0645Z/
DORCHESTER SC-
240 AM EDT MON AUG 31 2015

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR DORCHESTER COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT 245 AM
EDT...
                
THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS WEAKENED BELOW SEVERE
LIMITS...AND NO LONGER APPEARS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.
THEREFORE THE WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.  HOWEVER GUSTY WINDS
AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ARE STILL POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.

LAT...LON 3327 8047 3327 8045 3326 8043 3326 8041
      3322 8033 3321 8034 3319 8031 3307 8041
      3307 8045 3308 8049 3308 8053 3329 8049
TIME...MOT...LOC 0637Z 200DEG 23KT 3316 8047 

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 31, 12:10 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CHS	Colleton	20 min
Aug 31, 12:35 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CHS	Colleton	25 min
Aug 31, 1:03 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CHS	Colleton	27 min
Aug 31, 2:47 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CHS	Dorchester	28 min
Aug 31, 2:52 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester	83 min
Aug 31, 3:38 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Beaufort, Jasper	97 min
Aug 31, 4:05 AM EDT	Coastal Flood Advisory	CHS		7 hr
Aug 31, 4:47 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CHS	Beaufort, Jasper	3 hr
Aug 31, 5:23 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester	82 min
Aug 31, 5:56 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CHS	Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester	3 hr
Aug 31, 6:02 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CHS		58 min
Aug 31, 6:56 AM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CHS		64 min
Aug 31, 7:34 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Berkeley, Charleston	86 min
Aug 31, 8:59 AM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CHS	Berkeley, Charleston	61 min
Aug 31, 10:04 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Berkeley, Charleston	86 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 2015 Every tornado warning in 2015 Tornadoes in 2015

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.