South Carolina, 2002

Damaging Wind in South Carolina, May 9, 2002

May 9, 2002 · NWS GSP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 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
1

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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 9, 6:10 PM EST, 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 6:10 PM EST, 16 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
710 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002

UPDATE FOR SVR WW #271 WILL BE OUT SHORTLY.

FCSTID =16

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

DIXON

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 9, 4:33 PM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes before
GAZ018-026-028-029-SCZ010-011-092230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
533 PM EDT THU MAY 9 2002

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN SOUTH
CAROLINA UPSTATE...

AT 535 PM EDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST GEORGIA. THE LINE WILL MOVE EAST AT 35
MPH...AND AFFECT AREAS FROM CLARKESVILLE TO TOCCOA AND CARNESVILLE
BY 615 PM. THIS WILL ALSO INCLUDE MUCH OF LAKE HARTWELL.

WINDS OF 40 MPH...TORRENTIAL RAIN...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL WILL ACCOMPANY THE LINE. IF THE STORMS
CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN...THEY MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS WITH LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST WEATHER
INFORMATION.

MCAVOY
Local storm report, May 9, 6:26 PM EST, 0 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
726 PM EDT THU MAY 09 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

638 PM     7 NW HARTWELL             GA   WIND DAMAGE
05/09/02   HART                           NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
                                          ACROOS NORTHERN PART OF
                                          COUNTY BEGINNING AT TIME
                                          GIVEN

709 PM     10 NE ELBERTON            GA   WIND DAMAGE
05/09/02   ELBERT                         TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN

726 PM     3 W GAFFNEY               SC   WIND DAMAGE
05/09/02   CHEROKEE                       FEW TREES ACROSS ROADWAY

RBN

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 53 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:26 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cherokee

When
May 9, 6:26 PM EST to 6:35 PM EST
Where
Cherokee County, 3 mi W of Gaffney
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.067, -81.683

A few trees were blown down across roads.

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

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: 5298167.