1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 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 Charleston, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 30, 1:10 AM EST, 7 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 210 AM EDT FRI AUG 30 2002 UPR LVL TROF WILL CONT TO THE W WITH H5 VORT AFFECTING THE RGN TDY. SFC TROF ALSO RMNS ACRS FA WITH STG LOW LVL CONVERGENCE ACRS RGN. AMS MSTR RMNS PLENTIFUL WITH PWAT VALUES ABV 2 INCHES. BOTH ETA AND AVN MODELS SHOW BEST LIFT ACRS SC CNTYS TDY THUS WILL CONT FFA N OF SAV RVR. WILL HAVE CAT POPS FOR ENTIRE CWFA TDY WITH HVY RAFL MENTIONED. H5 AND SFC TROF WKNS TO THE W AS HIGH PRES GRDLY BLDS IN FM THE ATLC WATERS THUS PREV FCST OF CHC POPS FRI NGT THRU THE WEEKEND SEEMS RSNBL. ONE FLY IN THE OINTMENT MAY BE UPR LVL ENERGY MOVG NW FM THE ATLC WATERS AND INTO RGN SAT NGT INTO SUN. ETA SHOW INVERTED TROF MOVG INTO CSTL SXNS AS WELL WITH MORE LIFT SPLY ACRS SC CNTYS. FOR NOW WILL KEEP CHC POPS FOR THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND WITH SLGT CHC THEREAFTER WITH UPR LVL HIGH PRES RESIDING ACRS SERN STS. GRDLY INCRG DAYTIME TEMPS AS AMS MSTR LESSENS AND LOW LVL FLOW BECOMES MORE SLY LTR IN THE EXTDD PD. MARINE...ONSHORE FLOW 15 KT OR LESS WITH SEAS BLDG UP TO 5 FT INTO THE WEEKEND. WINDS BECOME SLY EARLY NXT WEEK WITH WK PRES GRADIENT. CHS 81 72 85 74 / 80 50 50 40 SAV 83 71 86 72 / 80 50 50 40 CHL 80 75 82 75 / 80 50 50 40 NBC 81 72 84 74 / 80 50 50 40 RBW 81 72 85 71 / 80 50 50 40 MHP 82 71 86 71 / 80 50 50 40 .CHS... GA...NONE. SC...FLOOD WATCH TODAY SCZ040-042>045-047>050. JAC
The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:02 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous roads were closed, motorists stranded and water got into homes and businesses as heavy rain continued to fal. Much of the area was already saturated from rain over the previous days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, August 2002
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: 5312499.