Funnel Cloud, Laurens
- When
- March 16, 3:00 PM EST to 3:40 PM EST
- Where
- Laurens County, Laurens
- Coordinates
- 34.484, -82.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in South Carolina, March 16, 1996
A rotating thunderstorm produced a well formed wall cloud and a funnel cloud that moved from the south side of Laurens into Union county north of Whitmire. The funnel cloud was followed by storm spotters and did not touch down.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
A rotating thunderstorm produced a well formed wall cloud and a funnel cloud that moved from the south side of Laurens into Union county north of Whitmire. The funnel cloud was followed by storm spotters and did not touch down.
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:59 UTC.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Tennessee, March 16, 1996
- High Surf in Hawaii, March 16 to 17, 1996
- Tornado in Alabama, March 16, 1996
- Tornado in Tennessee, March 16, 1996
- Tornado in Tennessee, March 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, March 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, March 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, March 16, 1996
- Hail in Tennessee, March 16, 1996
- Hail in Alabama, March 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, March 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, March 16, 1996
More
Every storm in South Carolina in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, March 1996
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5540659.