An upper low over the deep south opened up and rapidly crossed the western Carolinas during the evening hours of the 11th. A dry slot associated with the low overspread the region, bringing most of the rain and shower activity to an end during the afternoon hours.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
An upper low over the deep south opened up and rapidly crossed the western Carolinas during the evening hours of the 11th. A dry slot associated with the low overspread the region, bringing most of the rain and shower activity to an end during the afternoon hours. However, a small line of thunderstorms developed along the surface cold front over the western Upstate. The southern-most cell in the line began to exhibit mini-supercell characteristics as it moved across the upstate and into the southern foothills of North Carolina. As the storm interacted with the remnants of an old warm frontal boundary, it produced a series of tornadoes over the foothills. To be precise, one mini-supercell thunderstorm produced a tornado in Cleveland County, while a second mini-supercell rapidly strengthened just east of the first storm. This second went on to produce tornadoes in Burke and Caldwell Counties. Effective bulk shear in the region where the tornadoes occurred ranged from 40 to 50 kts with MUCAPE values of around 500 j/kg.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 11, 6:42 AM EST, 3 hours 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
642 AM EST WED JAN 11 2012
.SYNOPSIS...
A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SWING A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE AREA
TODAY WITH ANOTHER COLD FRONT AFFECTING THE REGION ON THURSDAY.
STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN FRIDAY AND REMAIN THROUGH THE
WEEKEND.
&&
.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
AS OF 640 AM...WIDESPREAD SHRA MOVING ACROSS THE AREA WITH THE FIRST
WAVE OF TSRA APPROACHING FROM THE WEST. HAVE STARTED TSRA EARLIER
THAN THE PREVIOUS FCST ACROSS THE WEST WITH GENERALLY NO CHANGE IN
TIMING OVER THE EAST. ALSO BROUGHT SCT TSRA TO THE WRN MTNS. QPF HAS
GENERALLY BEEN LIGHT OVERNIGHT...SO ANY FLOODING WILL LIKELY HOLD
OFF UNTIL LATER WHEN THE HEAVIER RAIN BEGINS. OTHERWISE...LITTLE
CHANGE TO GOING FCST.
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
MDLS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT BRINGING THE UPPER LOW CURRENTLY OVER LA
TO THE MIDDLE OF THE TN/NC BORDER BY THE END OF THE DAY. THIS PUSHES
THE SFC FRONT NEAR THE MS/AL BORDER TO THE ERN CWFA BY THE END OF
THE DAY. CURRENT SFC CHART SHOWS THE MAIN LOW NEAR KMEM WITH A
SECONDARY LOW NEAR MOB WITH A SFC BOUNDARY EAST OF THERE TO NEAR
KSSI. THIS BOUNDARY WILL SLOWLY LIFT AS THE MAIN FRONT MOVES EAST
INTO THE AREA. WITH THE BOUNDARY REMAINING SOUTH OF THE AREA...THIS
COULD KEEP A LID ON INSTABILITY. HOWEVER...THE FORCING IS QUITE
STRONG AND SHUD LEAD TO SOME CONVECTION. THERE WILL BE QUITE A BIT
OF SHEAR...SO ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL HAVE A CHANCE OF
PRODUCING SVR GUSTS OR EVEN AN ISOLATED TORNADO NEAR WHERE THE
BOUNDARY SETS UP. AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES THRU...SEVERE GUSTS OR EVEN
HAIL IS POSSIBLE WHERE STORMS FORM. CONVECTION THAT FORMED OVER THE
GULF PUT A STOP THE THE STRONG MOISTURE TRANSPORT INTO THE AREA
EARLY THIS MORNING. THIS LEAD TO MUCH LESS PRECIP DEVELOPING IN THE
PRE-DAYBREAK TIME. EXPECT STRONG MOISTURE TRANSPORT TO DEVELOP
CLOSER TO THE FRONT AND STORMS SHUD HAVE GOOD PRECIP GENERATION
POTENTIAL. QPF FCST SHOWS NEARLY 2 INCHES IN THE UPSLOPE AREAS...
EVEN WITH THE LOWER AMOUNTS EARLY ON. THEREFORE...WILL LEAVE FLOOD
WATCH IN PLACE...BUT ANY FLOODING MAY BE MORE ISOLATED THAN
PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED. GUSTY SW WINDS SHUD DEVELOP AS THE FRONT MOVES
THRU...BUT WILL LIKELY REMAIN BELOW ANY ADV LEVEL.
PRECIP COMES TO AN END BEHIND THE FRONT OUTSIDE OF THE MTNS AS A DRY
SLOT MOVES IN. HOWEVER...SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL LINGER OVER THE NC
MTNS THRU THE NIGHT WITH CONTINUED LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND SWLY FLOW.
QPF WILL BE DROP OFF SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER THE FRONT MOVES THRU EVEN
WITH THE SHRA CONTINUING. TEMPS AND LOW LEVEL THICKNESSES DROP
BEHIND THE FRONT...BUT SHUD REMAIN TOO WARM FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN
LIQUID PRECIP OVER THE MTNS.
&&
.SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...
AT 315 AM EST WEDNESDAY...THE CENTER OF SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WILL BE
LOCATED OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION SUNRISE THURSDAY. AT THE SAME
TIME...A COLD FRONT WILL RUN SOUTH ACROSS KY AND TN. A CLOSED MID
LEVEL LOW IS EXPECTED TO PIVOT ACROSS THE MID MISSISSIPPI RIVER
VALLEY...RESULTING IN THE SFC LOW TO OCCLUDE AND DRIFT NORTHWEST
ACROSS THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES. BOTH THE NAM AND GFS INDICATE THAT
THE COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION
BETWEEN 18Z TO 0Z. H85 TEMPS IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT WILL COOL FROM
2C AT 18Z TO -13 TO -15C BY 12Z FRIDAY. A BAND OF FRONTAL SHOWERS
WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE MTNS DURING THE AFTERNOON...TEMPERATURES
SUPPORTING SHRA. RAPIDLY COOLING TEMPERATURES SHOULD MIX SHRA TO
SHSN ACROSS THE MTNS THURSDAY EVENING. QPF WILL REMAIN LIGHT UNDER
WEAK FORCING AND WEST LLVL FLOW. HOWEVER...COLD TEMPERATURES WILL
LIKELY SUPPORT SLR VALUES BETWEEN 15 TO 20 TO 1. USING EXPECTED SLR
AND QPF...SNOW AMOUNTS ARE FORECAST TO RANGE FROM A HALF INCH ACROSS
THE VALLEYS TO ONE TO ONE AND HALF ACROSS THE HIGH TERRAIN ALONG THE
TN BORDER.
IN THE WAKE OR THE FRONT...THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE FORECAST
AREA WILL RANGE FROM 8 TO 10 MBS. WINDS SHOULD STRENGTHEN INTO THE
TEENS THURSDAY NIGHT AND WILL REMAIN THROUGH FRIDAY. FORECAST
SOUNDINGS INDICATE THE GUSTS WILL INCREASE TO 25 TO 30 KTS FRIDAY
AFTERNOON.
LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL ERODE FROM THE SOUTHWEST ON
FRIDAY...BECOMING DRY FRIDAY NIGHT. CONDITIONS SHOULD REMAIN DRY
UNDER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY.
TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN AROUND 5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL ON THURSDAY.
LOW TEMPERATURES THURSDAY NIGHT SHOULD RANGE FROM THE MID 20S ACROSS
THE MTN VALLEYS TO UPPER 20S EAST. ON FRIDAY...COOL LLVL THICKNESSES
SHOULD KEEP HIGH TEMPERATURES 5 TO 8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL...WITH MTN
VALLEY TEMPS IN THE MID 30S TO MID 40S EAST. FRIDAY NIGHT...LIMITED
CLOUD COVER AND DECREASING WINDS SHOULD RESULT IN MIN TEMPS IN THE
LOW TO MID 20S.
&&
.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
AS OF 210 AM WEDNESDAY...A BROAD AND DRY UPPER LEVEL TROF WILL
CONTINUE CROSSING EAST OVER THE CWFA THROUGH SUN. A REINFORCING S/W
WILL DIVE INTO THE TROF SAT NIGHT...BUT NO MORE THAN SOME INCREASING
MID TO UPPER CLOUD COVER IS EXPECTED. TEMPS WILL BE SLOW TO REBOUND
WITH LOW PARTIAL THICKNESS VALUES PERSISTING...BUT WITH INCREASING
INSOLATION MAX TEMPS WILL REACH AROUND NORMAL BY SUN. THERE IS MUCH
DISAGREEMENT BTW THE OP MODELS AND GEFS MEMBERS WITH A POSSIBLE
INCOMING DISTURBANCE LATE MON INTO TUE. THE 00Z OP GFS IS THE ONLY
MODEL THAT SUGGESTS A DYNAMICAL AND MOIST SYSTEM BY THE TIME. THE
00Z ECMWF CONTINUES TO PROJECT RISING HEIGHTS BY THAT TIME AND EVEN
THE GEFS MEAN HEIGHT FIELD DAMPENS OUT TO ZONAL BY 21Z MON. SO...NO
CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE ALREADY LOW END HPC POPS. MAX TEMPS FOR MON
AND TUE WERE BUMPED UP A BIT...BUT PROBABLY NOT ENOUGH GIVEN THE
POSSIBLE BUILDING UPPER RIDGE OR THE GFS/S WARM SECTOR SOLN.
&&
.AVIATION /12Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
AT KCLT...IFR CIGS AND MVFR VSBY WITH TEMPO IFR VSBY IN SHRA WILL
CONTINUE THRU THE MORNING WITH WIND GENERALLY JUST NORTH OF EAST.
WIND BECOMES SELY AROUND NOON WITH IFR CIGS AND VSBY CONTINUING AS
COLD FRONT APPROACHES. WINDS BECOME GUSTY AND SLY DURING THE
AFTERNOON AS THE FRONT CROSSES THE AREA WITH IFR CIGS AND MVFR VSBY.
TSRA WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR THE AFTERNOON. GUSTY SWLY WINDS DEVELOP
DURING THE EVENING AS PRECIP ENDS. HOWEVER...IFR CIGS CONTINUE THRU
THE NITE WITH DIMINISHING SWLY WINDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
ELSEWHERE...EXPECT SIMILAR CONDITIONS TO KCLT WITH EARLIER CHANGES
OVER THE WRN SITES. KHKY WILL LIKELY STAY IFR THRU THE PERIOD WITH
LATER WIND SHIFTS...NO GUSTS AND LESS OF A CHC OF TSRA.
OUTLOOK...A SECOND COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION ON THU...WITH
DRIER HIGH PRES RETURNING FRI INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH VFR.
AN EXPERIMENTAL AVIATION FORECAST CONSISTENCY TABLE SHOWING THE
PERCENTAGE OF GUIDANCE MEMBERS AGREEING WITH THE SCHEDULED ISSUANCE
CATEGORY IS AVAILABLE AT FOLLOWING LINK (USE LOWER CASE)...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GSP/AVIATION/TABLES.HTM
&&
.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR GAZ010.
NC...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR NCZ033-035-049-050-053-
059-062>065-501>510.
SC...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR SCZ001>003.
&&
SYNOPSIS...SBK
NEAR TERM...RWH
SHORT TERM...NED
LONG TERM...SBK
AVIATION...RWHHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 522 AM EST WED JAN 11 2012 NCZ048-051-052-058-121030- MADISON-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-GRAHAM- 522 AM EST WED JAN 11 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL CROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS TODAY. HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE...WITH THE RESULTING RUNOFF LEADING TO RISES IN STREAM AND CREEK LEVELS...AND POSSIBLY FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. GAZ010-NCZ033-035-049-050-053-059-062>065-501>510-SCZ001>003-121030- RABUN-AVERY-ALEXANDER-YANCEY-MITCHELL-BUNCOMBE-NORTHERN JACKSON- MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA-HENDERSON-CALDWELL MOUNTAINS- GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE-MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS- EASTERN MCDOWELL-RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS-GREATER RUTHERFORD- POLK MOUNTAINS-EASTERN POLK-OCONEE MOUNTAINS-PICKENS MOUNTAINS- GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS- 522 AM EST WED JAN 11 2012 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. FLOOD WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. GAZ017-018-026-028-029-NCZ036-037-056-057-068>072-082-SCZ004>014-019- 121030- HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-IREDELL-DAVIE-CATAWBA-ROWAN- CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC- GREATER OCONEE-GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG- CHEROKEE-YORK-ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 522 AM EST WED JAN 11 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL CROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS TODAY. UNSTABLE AIR AND STRONG WINDS ALOFT WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS...SOME OF WHICH MAY BE SEVERE...PRODUCING STRONG WINDS AND POSSIBLY AN ISOLATED TORNADO. THE BEST CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 85. HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE...WITH THE RESULTING RUNOFF LEADING TO RISES IN STREAM AND CREEK LEVELS...AND POSSIBLY FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE.
The Greer radar (KGSP), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:58 UTC.
3 tornado, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a home on Nimbus Lane, starting a fire that destroyed the structure.
A tornado damage path begin near the Ellenboro community, just northeast of the intersection of Pinehurst Rd and Bridge Rd. The track was relatively weak and intermittent for the first mile or so, as it crossed into a wooded area before emerging on Tiney Rd near the Corinth community. The aluminum siding and some roofing was peeled off a shed at this location. The intermittent path continued to the northeast, before becoming more concentrated in the area near Piney Mountain Rd and Piney Mountain Church Rd. The tornado reached its peak intensity as it moved roughly parallel to Piney Mountain Rd, crossing W E Padgett Rd toward Walls Church Rd. Several homes received minor to major damage in this area, while two mobile homes were completely destroyed. Ten people were injured, one seriously. Several outbuildings were also destroyed, while numerous trees and power lines were felled. The tornado began to weaken as it continued northeast, crossing Walls Church Rd and Dycus Rd before lifting just north of Salem Church Rd. The tornado was the first winter tornado in Rutherford County recorded history, and the first significant tornado (F2/EF2 and stronger) to affect the county since 1989.
This tornado touched down near George Hildebrand School Rd, felling trees and causing minor roof damage to several homes. The tornado continued northeast from there, along an intermittent path. The damage path became more concentrated as it moved across Paige St, continuing to down trees as well as causing minor roof damage to homes and outbuildings. The tornado rapidly intensified as it approached the South Fork community, crossing Rock Lane, River Rock Dr, and South Fork Ave. Dozens of homes were damaged in this area, with some mobile homes completely destroyed, and most of the roofing removed from some frame houses. Eight people were injured in this area. The tornado began to weaken as it moved northeast from there, causing mainly sporadic tree and minor structural damage along Old Britain Rd and Old Highway 10 before lifting near I-40. A total of 168 structures were damaged or destroyed in the county. This was the first winter tornado in Burke County history. It was only the second reported significant tornado (EF2/F2 and stronger) to have affected the county, and the first since 1979.
The same thunderstorm that produced a strong tornado in eastern Burke County produced a brief, weak tornado in the Lake Hickory area. Several pine trees were snapped and several boats and a dock flipped over on the lake. Minor roof damage also occurred at a marina.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 2012Warnings in North Carolina, January 2012
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 360509, 360514, 360515, 360518.