South Carolina, 2001

Drought in South Carolina, March 1 to 31, 2001

March 1 to 31, 2001 · NWS GSP · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

Despite beneficial rain during March, the drought continued to grip most of the area. The rainfall deficit for the 34-month period ending March 31 surpassed 36 inches by the end of the month.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
15

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.

Despite beneficial rain during March, the drought continued to grip most of the area. The rainfall deficit for the 34-month period ending March 31 surpassed 36 inches by the end of the month.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 28, 9:36 PM EST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 9:36 PM EST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
936 PM EST WED FEB 28 2001

MIN TEMP FCSTS LOOK GOOD ACROSS THE BOARD THIS EVENING. SAT LOOPS
AND UPPER AIR CHARTS INDICATE A FAIR AMOUNT OF UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE
TO OVERSPREAD THE CWFA IN THE FAST NW FLOW ALOFT. SOME 850 MB
MOISTURE LOOKS TO BE LINGERING AS WELL WITH FOG PRODUCT INDICATING
STRATCU INCREASING...BUT NEW ETA PROGS THIS MOISTURE TO BE ADVECTED
SE OVERNIGHT. ON THE AVERAGE...A PARTLY CLOUDY SKY CWFA WIDE LOOKS
GOOD.

FCSTID = 55
GSP   38  61  40  59 /   0   0   0  20
AND   38  62  40  60 /   0   0   0  20
CLT   35  57  37  60 /   0   0   0  10
HKY   34  56  33  57 /   0   0   0  10
AVL   31  55  31  51 /   0   0  10  20

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Abbeville

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Abbeville forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
34.223, -82.459 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Anderson

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Anderson forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
34.519, -82.638 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Cherokee

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Cherokee forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
35.048, -81.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Chester

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
34.692, -81.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Greenwood

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Greenwood forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
34.154, -82.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Laurens

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Laurens forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
34.484, -82.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Northern Greenville

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Northern Greenville forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Northern Oconee

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Northern Oconee forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Northern Pickens

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Northern Pickens forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Southern Greenville

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Southern Greenville forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Southern Oconee

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Southern Oconee forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Southern Pickens

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Southern Pickens forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Spartanburg

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Spartanburg forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Union

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Union forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
34.689, -81.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, York

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
York forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
34.975, -81.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, March 2001

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: 5237824, 5237825, 5237826, 5237827, 5237828, 5237829, 5237830, 5237831, 5237832, 5237833, 5237834, 5237835, 5237836, 5237837, 5237838.