Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 14 to 17, 2003

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 14 to 17, 2003
Start: 2003-08-14T18:05
End: 2003-08-17T21:07
Location: South Carolina

August 14 to 17, 2003 · NWS CAE · 8 events in 6 counties and zones

7 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 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: 8

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 Aug 14, 1:58 PM EST, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 1:58 PM EST, 4 hours 7 minutes before

WILL LEAVE A CHANCE/SLIGHT CHANCE OF EVENING CONVECTION IN THE
FORECAST. SHORT WAVE OVER EASTERN NC PUSHING SOUTHWEST ACROSS THE
AREA THIS EVENING.

MORNING FOG/STRATUS WAS LESS THIS MORNING THAN WEDNESDAY MORNING.
LOOKS LIKE TREND WILL CONTINUE. WILL HAVE PATCHY FOG FRIDAY MORNING
BUT NOT ENOUGH TO MENTION IN FORECAST.

ETA SHOWS MID LEVEL CAP ACROSS THE AREA FRIDAY. WILL ONLY MENTION
ISOLATED CONVECTION FOR THE AFTERNOON. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CENTERED
WEST OF THE STATE WITH FLOW FROM THE NORTH/NORTHEAST. TEMPS SHOULD
WARM INTO THE LOWER 90S. SURFACE FRONT AND UPPER TROUGH MOVES INTO
THE AREA SATURDAY BRINGING A CHANCE OF TSTMS. MAY EVEN BE AN
ISOLATED SHOWER OR TSTM LATE FRIDAY NIGHT. TEMPS A DEGREE OR TWO
COOLER WITH MORE CLOUDINESS EXPECTED.

EXTENDED DISCUSSION:
SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...UPPER TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN U.S. FROM
NEW ENGLAND TO THE MS RIVER VALLEY. SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT ACROSS THE
REGION WITH SHORT WAVES ROTATING THROUGH. ECMWF MORE PROGRESSIVE
WITH TROUGH MOVING OFF THE COAST TUESDAY RIDGING INTO THE AREA FOR
WEDNESDAY. WILL KEEP SCATTERED AFTERNOON/EVENING CONVECTION IN THE
FORECAST PER CLIMO.

FCSTID =   10
CAE   72  93  73  92 /  20  10  10  40
AGS   70  93  70  93 /  20  10  10  40
SSC   72  93  72  92 /  20  10  10  40
OGB   72  93  73  93 /  20  10  10  40

.CAE...
GA...NONE.
SC...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 14, 4:02 AM EST, 14 hours 3 minutes before

GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-141200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
502 AM EDT THU AUG 14 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA.

.DAY ONE...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

LCV

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 14, 4:17 PM EST, 1 hour 48 minutes before

SCZ016-142215-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
517 PM EDT THU AUG 14 2003

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT CHESTERFIELD COUNTY THROUGH 615
PM EDT...

AT 517 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN NORTH CAROLINA. THIS STORM WILL MOVE INTO
WESTERN CHESTERFIED COUNTY. THIS STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT
AREAS IN AND AROUND PAGELAND AND JEFFERSON THROUGH 615 PM EDT.

GUSTY WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG WITH FREQUENT
LIGHTNING.

AWP

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 11 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:04 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Richland

When: August 14, 6:05 PM EST
Where: Richland County, Columbia
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.000, -81.017

Columbia police reported several trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lexington

When: August 14, 6:10 PM EST
Where: Lexington County, West Columbia
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.983, -81.083

West Columbia police reported numerous trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lexington

When: August 14, 6:10 PM EST
Where: Lexington County, South Congaree
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 33.900, -81.117

NWS employee reported several trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lexington

When: August 14, 6:45 PM EST
Where: Lexington County, 10 mi S of Lexington
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 33.830, -81.250

Mid Carolina Electric reported numerous trees down at I-26 and hwy 321. Also at Fairview Crossroads and hwy 178.

Hail, Orangeburg

When: August 16, 12:40 PM EST
Where: Orangeburg County, 7 mi NE of Bowman
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 33.417, -80.600

EOC reported 3/4 inch hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Saluda

When: August 16, 4:55 PM EST
Where: Saluda County, 1 mi NE of Saluda
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.017, -81.750

Sheriff reported trees down on hwy 378.

Thunderstorm Wind, Newberry

When: August 16, 5:30 PM EST
Where: Newberry County, Pomaria
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.267, -81.417

Shieriff reported trees down on powerlines.

Thunderstorm Wind, McCormick

When: August 17, 9:07 PM EST
Where: McCormick County, 10 mi E of Mt Carmel
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 34.000, -82.333

Dept. of Highways reported a couple of trees down on hwy 19.

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Carolina in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in South Carolina, August 2003

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: 5367930, 5367928, 5367929, 5367931, 5367932, 5367933, 5367985, 5367986.