Damaging Winds in South Carolina, March 31, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in South Carolina, March 31, 2002
Start: 2002-03-31T14:50
End: 2002-03-31T14:55
Location: South Carolina

March 31, 2002 · NWS CHS · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 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 Charleston, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 31, 2:00 PM EST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 2:00 PM EST, 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
200 PM EST SUN MAR 31 2002

BIGGEST CONCERNS ARE FOR THE SHORT TERM ON THIS PKG. ENTIRE CWA
CURRENTLY INCLUDED IN SVR WATCH 66. VORT MAX IN S/CNTRL MS WILL CONT
TO PUSH E AND CROSS THE CWA LATE TONIGHT. GOOD AGREEMENT THAT FRONT
WILL PUSH THRU THE CWA EARLY IN THE MORNING AND BE OFF THE COAST BY
ROUGHLY 9Z. CONDS LOOK GOOD TO GO W/CATEGORICAL POPS TONIGHT AND
HANG ON TO A SLGT/CHC RIGHT ALONG THE COAST VERY EARLY SECOND PD.
BEYOND THAT...DRY CONDS QUICKLY COME IN ON MON AND REMAIN THRU TUE.
PLAN TO KEEP TEMPS NEAR THE AVN. NEXT CHC OF PCPN WILL BE W/FRONT
PUSHING THRU LATE ON WED...DRY OTHERWISE.

CWF...WILL CONT SCA FOR THE CHS HARBOR THRU LATE TONIGHT. SCEC FOR
THE COASTAL WATERS. EXPECT SOME GUSTS AOA 20 W/FROPA...BUT ONLY
FOR A FEW HOURS. WINDS BEGIN TO DIMINISH THRU MID-DAY ON MON AND
SLOWLY VEER TO BE MAINLY LIGHT SE/S BY LATE TUE.

CHS   61  74  48  76 /  80  20   0   0
SAV   61  75  48  78 /  80  10   0   0
CHL   64  73  55  74 /  80  20   0   0
NBC   61  74  49  78 /  80  20   0   0
RBW   58  74  46  78 /  80  10   0   0

.CHS...
GA...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 7 PM EST
     AMZ354-374-GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141.
SC...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 7 PM EST
     AMZ330-350-352-SCZ040-042045-047>050.
     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY AMZ330.

WOODWORTH

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 31, 12:40 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes before

GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141-SCZ040-042>045-047>050-010400-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
1240 PM EST SUN MAR 31 2002

...SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
AND SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING...

TEMPERATURES AROUND 80 DEGREES COMBINED WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE 60S
WILL PRODUCE A WARM AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS FOR THE REGION. RESIDUAL
SURFACE BOUNDARIES FROM CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY LAST NIGHT...ALONG WITH
A DEVELOPING PRE FRONTAL TROUGH...WILL ACT TO FOCUS THUNDERSTORM
ACTIVITY THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THIS EVENING. STRONG UPPER LEVEL
DYNAMICS WILL AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE
EVENING HOURS. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP MAY BECOME
SEVERE. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING HAIL AND WIND GUSTS IN
EXCESS OF 60 MPH.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD MONITOR THE
WEATHER AND REMAIN ALERT AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IN THE EVENT
OF A WATCH OR WARNINGS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

WOODWORTH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hampton

When: March 31, 2:50 PM EST
Where: Hampton County, Hampton
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 32.867, -81.117

Several large limbs and powerlines were down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Colleton

When: March 31, 2:55 PM EST
Where: Colleton County, Williams
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.033, -80.833

Afew large trees were down.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Carolina in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in South Carolina, March 2002

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: 5285141, 5285142.