Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 41
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 18, 2021, 2:08 PM EDT for Elbert County, Lincoln County, Georgia; 6 counties in North Carolina; 16 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 18, 2021, 2:08 PM EDT (18:08 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 18, 2021, 6:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 55 kt
All 24 counties
Elbert County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, Cabarrus County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Union County, NC, Abbeville County, SC, Anderson County, SC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Greenville County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Laurens County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Union County, SC, York County, SC
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:09 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
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- 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
- 50%
Warnings issued inside it
7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 18, 2:37 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Cherokee, Spartanburg | 23 min |
| Mar 18, 3:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union | 43 min |
| Mar 18, 3:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Newberry | 41 min |
| Mar 18, 4:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg | 34 min |
| Mar 18, 4:38 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Mecklenburg, Union | 37 min |
| Mar 18, 5:13 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Union | 31 min |
| Mar 18, 5:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Lancaster | 36 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
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 178 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 486 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 67 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 470 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 562 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
884 WWUS20 KWNS 181805 SEL1 SPC WW 181805 GAZ000-NCZ000-SCZ000-182200- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 41 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 205 PM EDT Thu Mar 18 2021 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Far northeast Georgia Southwest North Carolina Upstate South Carolina * Effective this Thursday afternoon and evening from 205 PM until 600 PM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 65 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...A couple supercells may develop near a mesolow and warm front intersection across Upstate South Carolina before spreading into southwest North Carolina. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 60 statute miles east and west of a line from 20 miles north of Charlotte NC to 55 miles west of Columbia SC. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1). PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and 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. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 40... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 55 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 23040. ...Grams
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 11:15 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Quitman | 90 min |
| Mar 18, 12:02 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baker, Bibb, Butts, Calhoun, Carroll, Chattahoochee and 38 more | 9 hr |
| Mar 18, 2:52 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chattahoochee, Clay, Marion, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart and 1 more | 83 min |
| Mar 18, 5:28 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clay, Early, Seminole | 92 min |
| Mar 18, 7:32 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atkinson, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Calhoun and 28 more | 58 min |
| Mar 18, 7:53 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bleckley, Brooks, Calhoun and 32 more | 5 hr |
| Mar 18, 10:34 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Habersham and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 18, 11:05 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 37 more | 115 min |
| Mar 18, 11:42 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch and 21 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 18, 3:10 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Elbert | 3 hr |
| Mar 18, 4:45 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Chatham, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham and 20 more | 4 hr |
| Mar 18, 5:09 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford and 3 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 18, 5:57 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Cabarrus, Camden and 45 more | 63 min |
| Mar 18, 7:49 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alamance, Anson, Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Edgecombe and 21 more | 56 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2021Tornado Watches in North Carolina, 2021Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2021Every tornado 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.