South Carolina, 2003

Flood in South Carolina, March 20, 2003

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

After heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in the Tigerville/Blue Ridge area on the evening of the 19th, moderating rains resulted in a slower increase in water levels, but continued and additional flooding across the area well into the morning.

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.

After heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in the Tigerville/Blue Ridge area on the evening of the 19th, moderating rains resulted in a slower increase in water levels, but continued and additional flooding across the area well into the morning.

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 20, 3:50 AM EST, 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 3:50 AM EST, 10 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 19, 2:55 PM EST, 13 hours 5 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, 10:04 PM EST, 5 hours 56 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
Local storm report, Mar 19, 10:45 PM EST, 5 hours 15 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1045 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

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

1012 PM    3 NE WARE SHOALS          SC   .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/03   LAURENS                        RELAY OF PUBLIC REPORT BY
                                          COUNTY 911.

NED
Special weather statement, Mar 20, 1:33 AM EST, 2 hours 27 minutes before
NCZ068-SCZ008-200730-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
133 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE ACROSS WESTERN CHEROKEE COUNTY...

AT 130 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED MORE
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH ACROSS CHEROKEE COUNTY. ONE
THUNDERSTORM CELL IN PARTICULAR WILL MOVE ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF OF
THE COUNTY THROUGH 2 AM. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL PRODUCE PEA TO
MARBLE SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS OF 40 MPH.

IF THE STORMS HOLD TOGETHER...THEY WILL MOVE INTO CLEVELAND COUNTY
NORTH CAROLINA BY 2 AM...AND SHOULD REACH THE AREA BETWEEN BOILING
SPRINGS AND SHELBY BETWEEN 215 AM AND 230 AM.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF
THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.

MOORE

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Greater Greenville

When
March 20, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Greater Greenville forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5348435.