Alert archive / South Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 150

May 4, 20214 counties in Georgia; 13 counties in North Carolina; 19 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 4, 2021, 4:56 PM EDT for 4 counties in Georgia; 13 counties in North Carolina; 19 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 4, 2021, 4:56 PM EDT (20:56 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 2021, 8:15 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 36 counties

Burke County, GA, Columbia County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Anson County, NC, Bladen County, NC, Cumberland County, NC, Harnett County, NC, Hoke County, NC, Lee County, NC, Montgomery County, NC, Moore County, NC, Richmond County, NC, Robeson County, NC, Sampson County, NC, Scotland County, NC, Stanly County, NC, Aiken County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Florence County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lee County, SC, Lexington County, SC, Marion County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Richland County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Sumter County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:58 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
10%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
10%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 5:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEChesterfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee57 min
May 4, 5:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMDarlington, Marlboro52 min
May 4, 5:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEBurke, Richmond60 min
May 4, 5:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHAnson, Richmond, Scotland53 min
May 4, 5:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMRobeson33 min
May 4, 6:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEBamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Orangeburg, Richland57 min
May 4, 6:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEClarendon, Lee, Richland, Sumter53 min
May 4, 6:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHCumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Moore61 min
May 4, 6:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMRobeson30 min
May 4, 6:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEClarendon48 min
May 4, 7:04 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMFlorence, Williamsburg41 min
May 4, 7:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILMFlorence, Georgetown, Marion, Williamsburg33 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 146 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2021-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 573 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2021-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 68 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 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
573 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-149 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1000 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

830 
WWUS20 KWNS 042052
SEL0  
SPC WW 042052
GAZ000-NCZ000-SCZ000-050100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 150
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
455 PM EDT Tue May 4 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Far east-central Georgia
  Southern North Carolina
  Central South Carolina

* Effective this Tuesday afternoon and evening from 455 PM until
  900 PM EDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...Multiple clusters should continue to pose a risk for
scattered damaging winds and isolated severe hail for a few more
hours across a portion of the Piedmont before weakening over the
coastal plain.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 55
statute miles east and west of a line from 20 miles southeast of
Augusta GA to 25 miles east northeast of Southern Pines NC. For a
complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 144...WW 145...WW
146...WW 147...WW 148...WW 149...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector
25030.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 8:31 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDade89 min
May 4, 10:03 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBartow, Carroll, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas and 8 more117 min
May 4, 10:48 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBanks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa and 43 more6 hr
May 4, 1:21 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBanks, Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clarke and 34 more114 min
May 4, 3:07 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBanks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee and 35 more113 min
May 4, 6:20 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Bibb, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Colquitt and 34 more85 min
May 4, 7:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBaker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brooks and 45 more6 hr
May 4, 9:37 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon, Swain3 hr
May 4, 1:04 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCaswell, Northampton, Person, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and 2 more56 min
May 4, 4:16 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlamance, Anson, Bladen, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham and 35 more119 min
May 4, 7:59 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBerkeley, Clarendon, Dorchester, Marion, Williamsburg61 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in South Carolina, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Carolina, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Georgia, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.