High Wind, Horry
- When
- September 3, 2:55 PM EST to 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Horry forecast zone
- Measured
- 53 kt (61 mph)
- Reported by
- METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Tornado and Flash Flood in South Carolina, September 3, 1998
1 high wind, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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
- 3
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 radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:23 UTC.
Event by event
1 high wind, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Horry
- When
- September 3, 3:15 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Horry County, Conway
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 33.905, -78.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Tornado, Georgetown
- When
- September 3, 4:25 PM EST
- Where
- Georgetown County, Choppee
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 33.570, -79.380
Hurricane Earl came ashore on the Florida Gulf Coast as a tropical storm, and passed across the Carolinas during the day and evening of 9/3/98. Wind gust reports ranged as high as 70 MPH in Horry County, where sustained winds reached 50 MPH for 5 minutes. A tornado briefly touched down in Georgetown County. Rainfall reports ranged from 2 to 4 inches onto ground soaked by Hurricane Bonnie on 8/26, resulting in flooding of some roads, especially along the coast.
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.
- 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
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, September 3, 1998
- Tornado in Georgia, September 3, 1998
- Tornado in Florida, September 3, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, September 3, 1998
- Tropical Storm in Georgia, September 3 to 4, 1998
- Tornado in North Carolina, September 3, 1998
- High Wind in Georgia, September 3, 1998
- Tornado in North Carolina, September 3, 1998
- Heavy Rain in North Carolina, September 3 to 4, 1998
- High Wind in Florida, September 3, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, September 3, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Florida, September 3, 1998
More
Every storm in South Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Carolina, 1998Warnings in South Carolina, September 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: 5667292, 5667293, 5667294.