Tornado and Hail in South Carolina, March 31, 1993

Name: Tornado and Hail in South Carolina, March 31, 1993
Start: 1993-03-31T10:45
End: 1993-03-31T20:55
Location: South Carolina

March 31, 1993 · 26 events in 11 counties and zones

16 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 25 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $660,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 26

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.

Event by event

16 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, McCormick

When: March 31, 10:45 AM EST
Where: McCormick County
Coordinates: 33.900, -82.310 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Few trees were downed and power disruptions in northern portion of county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Saluda

When: March 31, 10:50 AM EST
Where: Saluda County
Coordinates: 34.006, -81.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Few trees were downed and power disruptions in Good Hope Community in northwest part of county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenwood

When: March 31, 11:05 AM EST
Where: Greenwood County, S Portion
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 34.154, -82.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A mobile home was moved off its foundation, a shed was destroyed, and several trees and power lines were blown down. Most damage was in Ninety Six, Callison, Troy and Bradley areas.

Hail, Barnwell

When: March 31, 4:20 PM EST
Where: Barnwell County, N of Barnwell
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.266, -81.435 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Aiken

When: March 31, 4:35 PM EST
Where: Aiken County, Graniteville
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 33.544, -81.635 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail measuring 0.75 inch to 1.00 inch in diameter was reported in the Graniteville-North Augusta area.

Hail, Cherokee

When: March 31, 5:15 PM EST
Where: Cherokee County, W Portion
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.048, -81.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Oconee

When: March 31, 5:41 PM EST
Where: Oconee County, Lonscreek
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 34.754, -83.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Oconee

When: March 31, 5:58 PM EST
Where: Oconee County, Walhalla
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.754, -83.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Pickens

When: March 31, 6:23 PM EST
Where: Pickens County, Six Mile
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.888, -82.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Pickens

When: March 31, 6:30 PM EST
Where: Pickens County, Pickens
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Property damage: $500,000
Coordinates: 34.888, -82.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Pickens

When: March 31, 6:40 PM EST
Where: Pickens County, Easley
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 34.888, -82.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Pickens

When: March 31, 6:40 PM EST
Where: Pickens County, Easley
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 34.830, -82.570

Hail, Greenville

When: March 31, 7:03 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, W Greenville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenville

When: March 31, 7:03 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, W Greenville
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Greenville

When: March 31, 7:10 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, Easley
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Pickens

When: March 31, 7:10 PM EST
Where: Pickens County, Easley
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.888, -82.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Greenville

When: March 31, 7:13 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, Gsp
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenville

When: March 31, 7:13 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, Gsp
Coordinates: 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Spartanburg

When: March 31, 7:25 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, Greer
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 34.931, -81.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Spartanburg

When: March 31, 7:40 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, Ne Spartanburg
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 34.931, -81.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Greenville

When: March 31, 7:40 PM EST
Where: Greenville County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Greenville

When: March 31, 7:45 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, Greenville to Simpsonville
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Spartanburg

When: March 31, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, Croft Area
Coordinates: 34.931, -81.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Spartanburg

When: March 31, 8:15 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, Pacolet
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.931, -81.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Cherokee

When: March 31, 8:25 PM EST
Where: Cherokee County, Se Portion
Coordinates: 35.048, -81.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A severe thunderstorm developed just ahead of a line of storm crossing from the mountains of Georgia into Oconee County, South Carolina. This storm produced large hail for its entire journey across the upstate. This hail caused an enormous amount of damage, especially to roofs and vehicles. The hail piled up to great depths in some places such as Pickens where hail clogged storm drains and caused an urban flood which ruined much of a large store building under construction. This storm also produced a well defined wall cloud over most of its path and a funnel was associated with the wall cloud as the storm moved south of Pickens, over Easley, and into Greenville. It has been determined that the circulation reached the ground east of Easley along Highway 123. There several cars were blown off the road while a "pipe shaped" funnel was directly overhead. The condensation funnel and the main circulation never reached the ground apparently. From all evidence the tornado could have been quite strong and long-lived had it fully developed. The largest hail across the upstate was very close to the wall cloud structure. The most wind damage was in West Greenville where a number of power lines were downed. The funnel cloud was clearly visible there also but it has not been determined if the rotary wind caused the damage. The funnel was followed by a number of law enforcement officers for quite a distance across Pickens and Greenville Counties. A number of trees and power lines were blown down in parts of Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties from the same storm. A second severe storm followed a few miles behind the first storm. This storm also produced a great deal of large hail but no wind damage was reported with it. Lightning set a home in North Spartanburg afire.

Thunderstorm Wind, York

When: March 31, 8:55 PM EST
Where: York County, Highway 211 at
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 34.975, -81.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm winds blew down trees, damaged cars and barns.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Carolina in 1993 Every state in 1993 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Carolina, 1993 Warnings in South Carolina, March 1993

Sources

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: 10346812, 10346198, 10347220, 10347085, 10347404, 10347412, 10346836, 10346837, 10346981, 10346982, 10346983, 10346984, 10346697, 10346698, 10346699, 10346985, 10347052, 10347053, 10346885, 10346886, 10347054, 10347055, 10346887, 10346457, 10347413, 10346410.