Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2021

Tornado Warning 35, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

August 17, 2021Pickens County, South Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this tornado warning at Aug 17, 2021, 1:20 PM EDT for Pickens County, South Carolina. It was in force for 25 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 17, 2021, 1:20 PM EDT (17:20 UTC)
Expired
Aug 17, 2021, 1:45 PM EDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area
Storm-based polygon
Tornado
Radar indicated
Hail
0.0 in

County Pickens County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:18 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 17, 10:42 AM EDTTornado WatchSPC8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 231 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2021-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 259 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2021-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 113 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 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
259 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
461 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
197 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

657 
WFUS52 KGSP 171720
TORGSP
SCC077-171745-
/O.NEW.KGSP.TO.W.0035.210817T1720Z-210817T1745Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
120 PM EDT Tue Aug 17 2021

The National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
  Central Pickens County in Upstate South Carolina...

* Until 145 PM EDT.
    
* At 120 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
  was located 7 miles southwest of Easley, or near Liberty, 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.

* This dangerous storm will be near...
  Pickens around 140 PM EDT.

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.

Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the
tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!

Please report damaging winds, hail, or flooding to the National
Weather Service by calling toll free, 1, 800, 2 6 7, 8 1 0 1, or by
posting on our Facebook page, or Tweet it using hashtag nwsgsp. Your
message should describe the event and the specific location where it
occurred.

&&

LAT...LON 3489 8278 3492 8265 3474 8264 3471 8272
TIME...MOT...LOC 1720Z 172DEG 20KT 3475 8269 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

$$

TDP
2 follow-up statements
166 
WWUS52 KGSP 171735
SVSGSP

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
135 PM EDT Tue Aug 17 2021

SCC077-171745-
/O.CON.KGSP.TO.W.0035.000000T0000Z-210817T1745Z/
Pickens SC-
135 PM EDT Tue Aug 17 2021

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 145 PM EDT FOR CENTRAL
PICKENS COUNTY...
    
At 135 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located near Pickens, 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.

This dangerous storm will be near...
  Pickens around 140 PM EDT.

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.

Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the
tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!

&&

LAT...LON 3489 8278 3492 8265 3482 8265 3480 8275
TIME...MOT...LOC 1735Z 173DEG 23KT 3485 8271 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

$$

TDP
068 
WWUS52 KGSP 171738
SVSGSP

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
138 PM EDT Tue Aug 17 2021

SCC077-171747-
/O.EXP.KGSP.TO.W.0035.000000T0000Z-210817T1745Z/
Pickens SC-
138 PM EDT Tue Aug 17 2021

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR CENTRAL PICKENS COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT 145
PM 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.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 700 PM EDT for Upstate South
Carolina.

To report severe weather to the National Weather Service
Greenville-Spartanburg, call toll free, 1, 800, 2 6 7, 8 1 0 1, or
post on our Facebook page, or Tweet it using hashtag nwsgsp. Your
message should describe the event and the specific location where it
occurred.

LAT...LON 3489 8278 3492 8265 3482 8265 3480 8275
TIME...MOT...LOC 1737Z 172DEG 20KT 3485 8271 

$$

TDP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 17, 11:47 AM EDTTornado WarningGSPOconee13 min
Aug 17, 12:30 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPOconee5 hr
Aug 17, 12:30 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPOconee, Pickens23 min
Aug 17, 12:59 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPAnderson, Pickens23 min
Aug 17, 2:03 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPGreenville, Pickens5 hr
Aug 17, 2:14 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPGreenwood, Laurens33 min
Aug 17, 2:52 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPGreenville26 min
Aug 17, 3:01 PM EDTTornado Warning Tornado observedGSPGreenville18 min
Aug 17, 3:25 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPSpartanburg35 min
Aug 17, 3:26 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPOconee34 min
Aug 17, 4:34 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementGSPAbbeville, Anderson, Pickens26 min
Aug 17, 5:08 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPAnderson, Greenville, Pickens52 min
Aug 17, 5:10 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPAbbeville, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens50 min
Aug 17, 5:11 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPAbbeville, Greenwood, Laurens49 min
Aug 17, 5:33 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPAnderson, Greenville, Spartanburg42 min
Aug 17, 5:37 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPChester, York38 min
Aug 17, 5:57 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPGreenville, Laurens, Spartanburg48 min
Aug 17, 5:58 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPGreenwood, Laurens47 min
Aug 17, 6:15 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPLaurens, Spartanburg, Union45 min
Aug 17, 6:16 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGSPGreenville, Pickens, Spartanburg3 hr
Aug 17, 6:42 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPSpartanburg48 min
Aug 17, 6:46 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPCherokee, Spartanburg44 min
Aug 17, 6:51 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPLaurens, Spartanburg, Union39 min
Aug 17, 7:59 PM EDTTornado WarningGSPCherokee, Spartanburg46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 2021Every tornado warning in 2021Tornadoes in 2021

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.