Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Charleston, SC

September 25, 2015Charleston County, South Carolina

NWS Charleston, SC issued this tornado warning at Sep 25, 2015, 12:38 AM EDT for Charleston County, South Carolina. It was in force for 37 min. 5 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: Sep 25, 2015, 12:38 AM EDT (04:38 UTC)
Expired: Sep 25, 2015, 1:15 AM EDT
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Charleston, SC
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 0.75 in

County Charleston County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:37 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Sep 25, 12:42 AM EDT	TORNADO	1 Ese Johns Island, SC	THE TORNADO FORMED ABOUT 1242 AM EDT JUST OFF OF CANE SLASH ROAD ON JOHNS ISLAND AND DISSIPATED ABOUT 1259 AM EDT NEAR HIGHWAY 17 BETWEEN MAIN ROAD AND BEES FERRY ROAD. THE TORNADO TRACKED NORTH-NORTHWEST FOR ABOUT 4 MILES UNTIL IT APPROACHED THE STONO RIVER W
Sep 25, 12:45 AM EDT	TORNADO	1 Ene Johns Island, SC	OFF DUTY NWS EMPLOYEE REPORTED SEVERAL TREES DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF MAYBANK HIGHWAY AND WALTER DRIVE. A TREE WAS ALSO BLOCKING STATE ROAD 10-1442.
Sep 25, 12:47 AM EDT	TORNADO	3 Nne Johns Island, SC	NUMEROUS TREES DOWN NEAR SWYGERT LANDING.
Sep 25, 12:50 AM EDT	TORNADO	3 N Johns Island, SC	AT LEAST 12 HOMES ARE DAMAGED ALONG SONNY BOY LANE WITH AN UNKNOWN AMOUT OF PEOPLE TRAPPED IN HOMES. NO INJURIES REPORTED AT THIS TIME.
Sep 25, 12:50 AM EDT	TORNADO	3 N Johns Island, SC	THE PUBLIC REPORTED SEVERAL HOMES DAMAGED WITH WINDOWS BLOWN OUT ALONG SONNY BOY LANE.

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 00:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 23 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: 449 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 655 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 193 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

535 
WFUS52 KCHS 250438
TORCHS
SCC019-250515-
/O.NEW.KCHS.TO.W.0005.150925T0438Z-150925T0515Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
1238 AM EDT FRI SEP 25 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 115 AM EDT
    
* AT 1238 AM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHARLESTON...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...
  CHARLESTON...HOLLYWOOD...FOLLY BEACH...KIAWAH ISLAND...JAMES ISLAND
  COUNTY PARK...JOHNS ISLAND AND MAYBANK BRIDGE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TORNADOES ARE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SEE AND CONFIRM AT NIGHT. DO NOT
WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.

&&

LAT...LON 3266 7995 3261 8007 3275 8018 3280 7999
TIME...MOT...LOC 0438Z 162DEG 24KT 3268 8004 

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

$$

1 follow-up statement

546 
WWUS52 KCHS 250450
SVSCHS

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
1250 AM EDT FRI SEP 25 2015

SCC019-250515-
/O.CON.KCHS.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-150925T0515Z/
CHARLESTON SC-
1250 AM EDT FRI SEP 25 2015

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 115 AM EDT FOR
CHARLESTON COUNTY...
    
AT 1250 AM EDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO
WAS LOCATED 8 MILES SOUTH OF MAGNOLIA GARDENS...MOVING NORTH AT 30
MPH. RADAR HAS INDICATED POSSIBLE DEBRIS WITH THIS STORM.

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...
CHARLESTON...HOLLYWOOD...JAMES ISLAND COUNTY PARK...JOHNS ISLAND AND
MAYBANK BRIDGE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TORNADOES ARE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SEE AND CONFIRM AT NIGHT. DO NOT
WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.

&&

LAT...LON 3271 7998 3268 8009 3276 8016 3280 7999
TIME...MOT...LOC 0450Z 160DEG 25KT 3276 8008 

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

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 24, 8:49 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CHS	Beaufort	26 min
Sep 24, 9:45 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Charleston, Colleton	60 min
Sep 24, 10:14 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CHS		31 min
Sep 24, 10:17 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CHS	Beaufort	28 min
Sep 24, 10:18 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CHS	Beaufort	27 min
Sep 24, 10:35 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	CHS		115 min
Sep 24, 10:44 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Charleston, Colleton	2 hr
Sep 24, 11:01 PM EDT	Flash Flood Watch	CHS	Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester	5 hr
Sep 24, 11:34 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Beaufort	86 min
Sep 25, 12:24 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester	96 min
Sep 25, 12:37 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CHS	Charleston	53 min
Sep 25, 12:45 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	CHS	Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester	45 min
Sep 25, 1:38 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	CHS	Charleston	37 min
Sep 25, 1:50 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CHS	Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester	25 min
Sep 25, 2:11 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	CHS	Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester	94 min
Sep 25, 3:45 AM EDT	Coastal Flood Advisory	CHS		3 hr
Sep 25, 10:57 AM EDT	Coastal Flood Advisory	CHS		10 hr

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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.