South Carolina, 2002

Flash Flooding and Hail in South Carolina, May 10 to 11, 2002

May 10 to 11, 2002 · NWS CAE · 15 events in 7 counties and zones

8 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 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 Columbia, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 10, 1:43 PM EST, 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 10, 1:43 PM EST, 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
243 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 2002

WEAK PRESSURE TROUGH ACROSS THE MIDLANDS. OUTFLOW FROM OVERNIGHT
CONVECTION NOW CROSSING THE AREA. LIS AND TEMPS/DEWPOINTS INDICATE
FRONT REMAINS NEAR THE NC/SC BORDER WESTWARD INTO NORTHERN GA. FRONT
SHOULD SINK SOUTHWARD AND REMAIN IN THE VICINITY TONIGHT AND
SATURDAY. H5 SHORTWAVES TO CROSS THE AREA TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. WILL
KEEP LIKELY POPS FOR TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. STILL LOOKS LIKE WEAK
WEDGE WILL SET UP SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. EXPECT CLOUDS TO
INCREASE TONIGHT WITH LOW LEVEL JET DEVELOPING...SO WILL GO ON THE
WARM SIDE OF GUIDANCE FOR LOWS. HIGHS SATURDAY SHOULD BE BELOW
GUIDANCE ACROSS THE NORTH WITH WEAK WEDGE IN PLACE. WILL TREND TEMPS
FROM AROUND 70 NORTH TO LOWER 80S SOUTH. GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK OKAY
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY WITH LOWS IN THE LOW/MID 60S AND HIGHS IN
THE MID/UPPER 80S.

EXTENDED FORECAST MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY:
MODELS SLIGHTLY DELAYING FRONTAL PASSAGE TIL MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY
MORNING. AVN HAS FRONT TO THE COAST BY 12Z TUESDAY. 00Z CANADIAN
WAS A BIT SLOWER WITH FRONT CROSSING THE MIDLANDS 12Z TUESDAY. FOR
NOW, WILL LEAVE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN FOR MONDAY AND MONDAY
NIGHT WITH CLEARING TREND FOR TUESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FOR
WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY WITH FLAT RIDGE BUILDING ACROSS THE
SOUTHEASTERN STATES. TEMPS SLIGHTLY BELOW CLIMO TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY THEN MODERATING TO SEASONAL NORMALS BY FRIDAY.

FCSTID = 10
CAE   68  78  65  88 /  60  60  20  10
AGS   67  83  65  89 /  60  60  20  10
SSC   68  78  65  88 /  60  60  20  10
OGB   68  83  65  89 /  60  60  20  10

.CAE...
GA...NONE.
SC...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #276 FROM 245 PM EDT FRIDAY UNTIL 700
PM EDT FRIDAY FOR ZONES
SCC003...SCC009...SCC011...SCC017...SCC025...SCC027...SCC037...SCC039
...SCC055...SCC057...SCC061...SCC063...SCC065...SCC071...SCC075...SCC
079...SCC081...SCC085.

LM

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lancaster

When
May 10, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Lancaster County, Heath Spgs
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.600, -80.667

Sheriff reported trees down in the Heath Springs area.

Hail, Lancaster

When
May 10, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Lancaster County, Heath Spgs
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.600, -80.667

Sheriff reported dime size hail.

Hail, Fairfield

When
May 10, 2:40 PM EST
Where
Fairfield County, Winnsboro
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
34.383, -81.100

Emergency manager reported dime size hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Chesterfield

When
May 10, 2:55 PM EST
Where
Chesterfield County, 14 mi S of Chesterfield
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.533, -80.083

Sheriff reported trees down at hwys 1 and 109.

Hail, Clarendon

When
May 10, 9:12 PM EST
Where
Clarendon County, St Paul
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
33.583, -80.400

Emergency manager reported 3/4 inch hail in the St. Paul area.

Hail, Lexington

When
May 11, 2:20 AM EST
Where
Lexington County, 3 mi W of Lexington
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
33.980, -81.300

SKYWARN spotter reported dime size hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Newberry

When
May 11, 2:38 AM EST
Where
Newberry County, 2 mi E of Pomaria
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
34.267, -81.383

Highway dept. reported trees down east of Pomaria.

Hail, Lexington

When
May 11, 2:50 AM EST
Where
Lexington County, Lexington
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
33.983, -81.250

SKYWARN spotter reported dime size hail in Lexington.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fairfield

When
May 11, 2:53 AM EST
Where
Fairfield County, Jenkinsville
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
POST OFFICE
Coordinates
34.267, -81.283

Post Office reported several trees and large branches down in the Jenkinsville area.

Hail, Lexington

When
May 11, 3:03 AM EST
Where
Lexington County, Irmo
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
34.083, -81.183

NWS employee reported dime size hail.

Hail, Richland

When
May 11, 3:10 AM EST
Where
Richland County, 10 mi NW of Columbia
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
34.100, -81.133

SKYWARN spotter reported dime size hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Newberry

When
May 11, 6:30 AM EST
Where
Newberry County, Prosperity
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.200, -81.533

Sheriff reported several trees down in Prosperity.

Hail, Newberry

When
May 11, 6:30 AM EST
Where
Newberry County, Prosperity
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.200, -81.533

Sheriff reported dime size hail.

Flash Flood, Lexington

When
May 11, 7:20 AM EST to 9:30 AM EST
Where
Lexington County, East Central Portion
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
33.902, -81.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorms produced 2-4 inches of rain that sent many streams and highways flooding. Several cars were stranded but there were no injuties.

Flash Flood, Richland

When
May 11, 7:40 AM EST to 9:30 AM EST
Where
Richland County, West Central Portion
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
34.022, -80.903 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorms produced 2-3 inches of rain that sent many streams and highways flooding. Several cars were trapped in the floods but there were no injuries.

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.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, May 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: 5295062, 5295063, 5295064, 5295065, 5295066, 5295067, 5295068, 5295069, 5295070, 5295071, 5295072, 5295073, 5295152, 5295153, 5295154.