High Wind, Abbeville
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Abbeville forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 34.223, -82.459 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding and High Wind in South Carolina, February 3 to 4, 1998
A strong storm system moved slowly north from the Gulf of Mexico into the Carolinas on the 3rd and 4th. A tight pressure gradient between high pressure in the upper Midwest and the approaching strong low, produced damaging high winds which blew down hundreds of trees, many on houses, during the afternoon of the 3rd.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 21
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 strong storm system moved slowly north from the Gulf of Mexico into the Carolinas on the 3rd and 4th. A tight pressure gradient between high pressure in the upper Midwest and the approaching strong low, produced damaging high winds which blew down hundreds of trees, many on houses, during the afternoon of the 3rd. Numerous power outages were also reported. Heavy rain during the day prompted flooding by afternoon. Several counties across the Upstate reported bridges and roads flooded. The Broad River, Pacolet River and Reedy River all rose out of their banks and flooded nearby roads and land.
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:01 UTC.
Event by event
13 high wind, 8 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Anderson
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Anderson forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 34.519, -82.638 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Cherokee
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cherokee forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 35.048, -81.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Greenwood
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greenwood forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 34.154, -82.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Laurens
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Laurens forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 34.484, -82.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Northern Greenville
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northern Greenville forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
High Wind, Northern Oconee
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northern Oconee forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
High Wind, Northern Pickens
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northern Pickens forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
High Wind, Southern Greenville
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Greenville forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
High Wind, Southern Oconee
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Oconee forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
High Wind, Southern Pickens
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Pickens forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
High Wind, Spartanburg
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Spartanburg forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
High Wind, Union
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 34.689, -81.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Oconee
- When
- February 3, 12:00 PM EST to February 4, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Oconee County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 34.754, -83.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Laurens
- When
- February 3, 3:15 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Laurens County, Hickory Tavern
- Coordinates
- 34.484, -82.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Union
- When
- February 3, 4:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Union County, East Portion
- Coordinates
- 34.689, -81.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Spartanburg
- When
- February 3, 4:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
- Where
- Spartanburg County, Clifton
- Coordinates
- 34.931, -81.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Greenwood
- When
- February 3, 4:30 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greenwood County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 34.154, -82.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Greenville
- When
- February 3, 5:30 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greenville County, Greenville
- Coordinates
- 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Greenwood
- When
- February 4, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greenwood County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 34.154, -82.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Abbeville
- When
- February 4, 2:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Abbeville County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 34.223, -82.459 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, February 3 to 4, 1998
- Ice Storm in Nebraska, February 3, 1998
- Flood in California, February 3 to 21, 1998
- Winter Storm in West Virginia, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Winter Storm in North Carolina, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 3 to 4, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Flood in California, February 3, 1998
- High Wind in Nevada, February 3, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Snow in North Carolina, February 3 to 4, 1998
More
Every storm in South Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, February 1998
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: 5635592, 5635593, 5635594, 5635595, 5635596, 5635597, 5635598, 5635599, 5635600, 5635601, 5635602, 5635603, 5635604, 5635605, 5635606, 5635607, 5635608, 5635609, 5635610, 5635611, 5635612.