Hail, Oconee
- When
- May 3, 8:30 PM EST
- Where
- Oconee County, 5 mi NE of Walhalla
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.820, -83.000
Hail in South Carolina, May 3, 1998
A large severe thunderstorm produced baseball size hail across three counties in the Upstate. The hailstorm lasted for 10 minutes northwest of Pickens and for 5 minutes in the Cleveland area of Greenville county.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
- 5
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 large severe thunderstorm produced baseball size hail across three counties in the Upstate. The hailstorm lasted for 10 minutes northwest of Pickens and for 5 minutes in the Cleveland area of Greenville county. Dime size hail was reported between Laurens and Clinton from another severe thunderstorm.
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:30 UTC.
Event by event
5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Pickens
- When
- May 3, 8:50 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Pickens County, 8 mi NW of Pickens
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.970, -82.800
Hail, Pickens
- When
- May 3, 9:10 PM EST
- Where
- Pickens County, 4 mi N of Pickens
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.930, -82.700
Hail, Greenville
- When
- May 3, 9:15 PM EST to 9:20 PM EST
- Where
- Greenville County, Cleveland
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.070, -82.500
Hail, Laurens
- When
- May 3, 10:20 PM EST
- Where
- Laurens County, Laurens to Clinton
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.500, -82.020
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in New Jersey, May 3, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Georgia, May 3, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Arkansas, May 3, 1998
- Hail in Alabama, May 3, 1998
- Hail in Georgia, May 3, 1998
- Hail in Alabama, May 3, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 3, 1998
- Hail in Alabama, May 3, 1998
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, May 3, 1998
- Hail in Alabama, May 3, 1998
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 3, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 3, 1998
More
Every storm in South Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, May 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5646710, 5646711, 5646712, 5646713, 5646714.