Flash Flood in South Carolina, March 19 to 20, 2003

Name: Flash Flood in South Carolina, March 19 to 20, 2003
Start: 2003-03-19T22:30
End: 2003-03-20T06:00
Location: South Carolina

March 19 to 20, 2003 · NWS GSP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Streams and creeks began overflowing their banks during the late evening in Easley and surrounding areas. One creek flooded a subdivision near Powdersville.

Where it happened

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.

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 happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

Streams and creeks began overflowing their banks during the late evening in Easley and surrounding areas. One creek flooded a subdivision near Powdersville. Several roads were covered by water from overflowing creeks in and around the city, including portions of highways 8, 123, and 186.

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 Mar 19, 10:02 PM EST, 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 19, 10:02 PM EST, 28 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 19, 2:55 PM EST, 7 hours 35 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-192145-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
255 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST
GEORGIA TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT...
POSSIBLY ACCOMPANIED BY TORNADOES ALONG THE BORDER OF NORTHEAST
GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND
NORTHEAST GEORGIA THURSDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE
THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

07

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 19, 9:17 PM EST, 1 hour 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
917 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

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

910 PM     DEWEY ROSE                GA   .88 INCH HAIL
03/19/03   ELBERT                         ELBERT 911 RELAYED PUBLIC
                                          REPORT

JONES

Local storm report, Mar 19, 10:04 PM EST, 26 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1004 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

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

955 PM     TIGERVILLE                SC   FLASH FLOOD
03/19/03   GREENVILLE                     NWS EMPLOYEE REPORTED
                                          BEAVER DAM CREEK FLOODING

JONES

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 46 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Pickens

When: March 19, 10:30 PM EST to March 20, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Pickens County, Southeast Portion
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.888, -82.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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

Every storm in South Carolina in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in South Carolina, March 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5348428.