A poorly organized line of thunderstorms moved southeast, across Upstate South Carolina during the late afternoon hours. A couple trees were blown down east of Spartanburg.
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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.
A poorly organized line of thunderstorms moved southeast, across Upstate South Carolina during the late afternoon hours. A couple trees were blown down east of Spartanburg.
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 Sep 6, 2:51 PM EST, 2 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 351 PM EDT THU SEP 6 2012 .SYNOPSIS... SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR WILL PREVAIL ACROSS OUR REGION ON FRIDAY UNDER WEAK HIGH PRESSURE. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT WITH DRY AIR OVERSPREADING THE REGION ON SUNDAY. DRY HIGH PRESSURE WILL SETTLE OVER THE REGION FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/... 430 PM EDT UPDATE...THE BIGGEST CHANGE FOR THE UPDATE INCLUDED ADDING A NUMEROUS -SHRA/TS AREA ACROSS THE EASTERN UPSTATE AND INTO THE NC PIEDMONT AROUND KCLT...PER THE LATEST 88D TRENDS AND SFC CONVERGENCE FIELDS. THERE COULD BE SOME TRAINING HYDRO ISSUES LATER ON...DEPENDIN ON TRANSLATION OF THE UPPER TROF EASTWARD. SKY COVER WAS ADJUSTED USING THE LATEST VSBL LOOP AND INTERPOLATED HR/LY THROUGH THE EVENING. MINOR CHANGES WERE MADE TO TEMPS/TDS...MAINLY ACROSS THE EASTERN PIEDMONT WHERE CONVECTIVE CLOUD COVER HAS KEPT HR/LY VALUES LOWER THAN FORECASTED. THE 16 UTC RAP AND WATER VAPOR IMAGERY CONTINUE TO INDICATE A WELL DEFINED SHORT WAVE TROF SLOWLY PROGRESSING ACROSS THE NC MTNS. AHEAD OF THE TROUGH...A STOUT AREA OF PVA EXITS OVER THE FOOTHILLS AND WESTERN PIEDMONT. THE WAVE WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY TRANSLATE TO THE ESE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. DEWPOINTS ARE QUITE HIGH OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NE GA...AND NOW THAT TEMPS HAVE WARMED INTO THE L-M80S...SBCAPE VALUES HAVE RISEN TO 2000 J/KG OR HIGH IN MANY AREAS. THIS HAS RESULTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHRA/TSTMS OVER THE ERN UPSTATE AND SRN NC PIEDMONT. THE ACTIVITY SHOULD INCREASE IN COVERAGE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS...THEN MOVE EAST OF THE REGION BY EARLY EVENING. THE LATEST SPC MESOANALYSIS SHOWS A DCAPE MINIMUM ACROSS THE REGION. FREEZING LEVELS ARE ALSO OVER 15KFT. THEREFORE...NEITHER DAMAGING WINDS OR NOR HAIL WILL BE MUCH OF A THREAT WITH STORMS THIS AFTN. THE STORMS SHOULD NOT BECOME VERY ORGANIZED AND 30 TO 40 PERCENT COVERAGE...MAINLY OVER THE ERN ZONES...STILL LOOKS REASONABLE. THE EXCEPTION TO THIS COULD BE THE SRN NC PIEDMONT WHERE THE WAVE IS ALSO RESULTING IS INCREASED LLVL CONVERGENCE. LATE TONIGHT WIDESPREAD DENSE VALLEY FOG IS EXPECTED OVER THE NC MTNS. WITH THE MID-LEVELS DRY OUT...FOR SHOULD ALSO BE A LITTLE MORE WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT...PARTICULARLY ALONG THE LARGER RIVER VALLEYS. SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR WILL WORK INTO THE REGION TOMORROW. A SHORT WAVE RIDGE WILL ALSO SLOWLY TRANSLATE ACROSS THE FA. WITH MUCH DRIER AIR ALOFT AND WARM H7 TEMPS CONVECTION WILL HAVE DIFFICULTLY DEVELOPING TOMORROW AND I HAVE A DRY FORECAST FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. ISOLATED STORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE MTNS...PARTICULARLY OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. WITH DRIER AIR AND LIGHT DOWNSLOPE FLOW...TEMPERATURES WILL RISE INTO THE L90S ACROSS MUCH OF FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... COLD FROPA AND ASSOCIATED PRECIPITATION ARE THE BIG CONCERN FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. 850MB WINDS WERE STRONGER ON 00Z NAM THAN ON 06Z GFS...WHICH LED THE NAM TO PRODUCE STRONGER THETA-E ADVECTION AND MOISTURE TRANSPORT AHEAD OF THE FRONT. 12Z NAM HAS WEAKER WINDS MORE IN LINE WITH THE GFS AND ITS MOISTURE FIELDS REFLECT THE WEAKER ADVECTION. DECENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN MODELS IN TIMING OF FROPA...WHICH APPEARS TO OCCUR BETWEEN 12Z AND 18Z. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES INCREASE AS THE FRONT ENTERS THE PIEDMONT...BUT THE VALUES OVER THE MOUNTAINS ARE MORE EXTREME WITH RESPECT TO CLIMATOLOGY. IF THE DYNAMICS ALONG THE FRONT WERE MORE IMPRESSIVE I WOULD BE INCLINED TO GO WITH HIGHER QPF...BUT KEPT IT IN CHECK FOR NOW. WITH THE FRONT MOVING THROUGH EARLY IN THE DAY...INSTABILITY WILL BE LIMITED...BUT FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE ENOUGH CAPE TO WARRANT A THUNDER MENTION. HOWEVER THE BETTER CHANCES FOR THUNDER WILL BE OVER THE SC PIEDMONT ZONES DURING THE AFTERNOON AS THAT AREA WILL HAVE MORE TIME TO DESTABILIZE. COLD ADVECTION AND SUBSIDENCE SET IN QUICKLY BEHIND THE FRONT AND MODELS AGREE PRECIP SHOULD END BY LATE SATURDAY EVENING. COULD SEE SOME STRONG GAP WINDS IN THE MOUNTAIN VALLEYS OVERNIGHT SATURDAY NIGHT GIVEN STRONG WINDS IN 1000-3000 FT LAYER AND WEAK INVERSION PROFILE EXPECTED WITH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES STILL IN PLACE. SUNDAY LOOKS TO BE REFRESHINGLY COOLER AND LESS HUMID WITH HIGHS IN THE MID 70S OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO THE LOWER 80S OVER THE PIEDMONT. ONE ITEM OF NOTE IS THAT THE 00Z EC DEVELOPS THE TROUGH INTO A CUTOFF UPPER LOW OVER THE NORTHEAST CONUS...WITH A WEAK LOBE OF VORTICITY REACHING THE MOUNTAINS LATE SUNDAY. HOWEVER THE MODEL DOES NOT PRODUCE ANY PRECIP AND THE WHOLE TROUGH IS LONG GONE ON THE GFS AT THIS TIME ANYWAY...SO STILL FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT WITH DRY FORECAST SUNDAY. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 200 PM EDT THURSDAY...BY 00Z MONDAY ALL MODELS ARE INDICATING THAT DRY AIR WILL BE WELL ESTABLISHED AS THE AXIS OF THE UPPER TROUGH WILL BE OVER OUR AREA AND MOVING EAST. COOLER CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE MOVING FROM THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY SUNDAY EVENING TO BE POSITIONED OVER WEST VIRGINIA BY AROUND 00Z TUESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL SLOWLY SLIDE OFF THE EAST COAST IN MID WEEK AS THE NEXT COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. HPC HAS THE FRONT OVER THE OHIO RIVER THURSDAY MORNING AS THAT POSITION MORE CLOSELY FOLLOWS THE ECMWF WHICH HAS A MUCH MORE SHALLOW TROUGH CROSSING THE GREAT LAKES AND HAS VERY LITTLE MOISTURE. THE GFS IS MUCH SLOWER WITH A SHARPER UPPER TROUGH AND DEEPER MOISTURE. THEREFORE...ONLY INCREASING THE CLOUDS A BIT OVER THE MOUNTAINS AT THE END OF THE CURRENT FORECAST WHICH AT THIS POINT IS THURSDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL BE A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEK AND WARMING TO JUST BELOW NORMAL BY THURSDAY. && .AVIATION /20Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... AT KCLT...SCT SHRA ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP OVER THE UPSTATE AND WRN NC PIEDMONT ALONG A LINE FROM ABOUT 20 MILES NW OF THE AIRFIELD TO 40 MILES TO IT/S SOUTHWEST. WITH AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE AND A WELL DEFINED UPPER TROUGH APPROACHING...THE SHRA SHOULD GROW INTO TSTMS AND MOVE INTO THE VCNTY OF THE AIRFIELD BY 19 UTC. THE CONVECTION SHOULD LAST 3 TO 4 HOURS BEFORE MOVING EAST OF THE REGION BY 22-23 UTC. WINDS WILL BE OUT OF THE SW THIS AFTN AND WILL BE LIGHT OVERNIGHT. AREAS OF MVFR FOG ARE LIKELY LATER TONIGHT. IN FACT...DENSE FOG IS A GOOD BET IN PARTS OF THE WESTERN PIEDMONT...BUT THIS WON/T BE INCLUDED AT KCLT AS THE AIRFIELD TYPICALLY IS ONE OF THE LAST PLACES TO FOG UP. ELSEWHERE...SCT SHRA WERE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION AT ISSUANCE TIME. COVERAGE AND INTENSITY SHOULD INCREASE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH CROSSES THE REGION. HOWEVER...THE CONVECTION WILL BE SCT ENOUGH THAT ONLY VCTS WILL BE CARRIED AT THE UPSTATE AND FOOTHILL TAF SITES. OF COURSE TEMPO OR PREVAILING WILL BE ADDED TO ANY SITES THAT LOOK TO BE IMMEDIATELY THREATENED. ONCE THE TROUGH PASSES...THERE SHOULD BE LESS MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS OVERNIGHT. THIS WILL FAVOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DENSE VALLEY FOG IN THE NC MTNS...AS WELL AS SOME OF THE NON-MTN RIVER VALLEYS. LIFR FOG HAS BEEN CARRIED AT KAND AND KHKY WITH PREVAILING VLIFR AT KAVL. OUTLOOK...BRIEF DRYING FROM THE WEST IS EXPECTED INTO FRIDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION FROM THE NORTHWEST ON SATURDAY AND MOVE EAST OF THE AREA ON SUNDAY. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS POSSIBLE WITH THE FRONT ON SATURDAY. DRY AUTUMNAL HIGH PRES WILL DOMINATE THE AREA EARLY NEXT WEEK. 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...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...DEO NEAR TERM...MCAVOY/SBK SHORT TERM...JW LONG TERM...DEO AVIATION...MCAVOY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 239 PM EDT THU SEP 6 2012 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ035>037-056-057-068>072-082-501>510- SCZ001>014-019-071845- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-ALEXANDER-IREDELL- DAVIE-CATAWBA-ROWAN-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS- UNION NC-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- GREATER OCONEE-GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG- CHEROKEE-YORK-ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 239 PM EDT THU SEP 6 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT MUCH OF THE PIEDMONT AND FOOTHILLS OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THUNDERSTORMS THE REST OF THE DAY WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. HIGHLY LOCALIZED URBAN FLOODING IS POSSIBLE IF THE STORMS REPEATEDLY AFFECT THE SAME LOCATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-071845- AVERY-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-GRAHAM- NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA-HENDERSON- 239 PM EDT THU SEP 6 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. MCAVOY
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
524 PM EDT THU SEP 6 2012
SCZ007-008-062215-
CHEROKEE-SPARTANBURG-
524 PM EDT THU SEP 6 2012
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT CHEROKEE AND NORTHERN SPARTANBURG
COUNTIES THROUGH 615 PM EDT...
AT 519 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 4 MILES WEST OF
BLACKSBURG TO FINGERVILLE...MOVING SOUTH AT 10 MPH.
THESE STORMS WILL IMPACT LOCATIONS NEAR...
LAKE BOWEN...
BLACKSBURG...
MAYO...
GAFFNEY...
BOILING SPRINGS SC...
COWPENS...
SMALL HAIL...WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH AND TORRENTIAL RAIN ARE
EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.
LAT...LON 3519 8217 3517 8151 3517 8149 3505 8144
3503 8149 3498 8148 3494 8149 3493 8148
3493 8205
07The Greer radar (KGSP), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:01 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down on Catawba St in Cowpens. Another tree was blown down at Cherry Hill Rd and Old Schoolhouse Rd two miles southwest of town.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, September 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: 414055.