1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
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 Charleston, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 15, 1:28 AM EST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 228 AM EDT SUN AUG 15 2004 .SHORT TERM /TODAY AND TONIGHT/... WEAK WEDGE-LIKE FRONTAL BOUNDARY FROM NEAR CHARLESTON TO THE MIDLANDS EARLY THIS MORNING WITH ENOUGH MCON TO KEEP SOME POCKETS OF CONVECTION GOING THANKS A DEEP MOIST VERTICAL PROFILE. THE ETA AND GFS BOTH SHOW SOME LIFT FOR OUR REGION TODAY BUT DIFFER ON TIMING MUCH DRIER MID AND UPPER LEVEL AIR ADVECTION. PLAN OUR HIEST POPS IN SOUTH CAROLINA TODAY AND WILL GO WITH A RANGE CLOSER TO THE 40-50 ETA/NGM THAN THE 80-90 PRESENTED IN THE MAV GUIDANCE...UNLESS RADAR TRENDS AT RELEASE TIME INDICATE LIKELY POPS MAY BE NEEDED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING. ANY TSTMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RNFL TODAY AND SOME STRONGER STORMS POSSIBLE INLAND THIS AFTN IF DRY AIR ALOFT GETS IN AND INCREASING INSOLATION DEVELOPS. STILL GOOD MOISTURE BLO H7 TONIGHT AND WEAK FRONTAL FORCING FROM SE GEORGIA ALONG THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST. WILL HANG ONTO 20 POPS WITH A GOOD CHC OF WDSPRD FOG AND STRATUS LATE...ESPECIALLY FOR OUR NW TIER OF ZONES AND PARTS OF ERN GEORGIA. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... DESPITE SOME REINFORCEMENTS INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION...THE BIG EAST COAST TROF IS EXPECTED TO DEAMPLIFY AS A SIGNIFICANT SUBTROPICAL RIDGE DEVELOPS ACROSS FLORIDA AND THE BAHAMAS. THIS RIDGE MAY STEER EARL MORE TOWARD THE YUCATAN WITH A LESSER CHC OF RECURVATURE...TIME WILL TELL. WILL MAINTAIN ONLY SLIGHT CHC MAINLY DIURNAL POPS MON AND TUE...THEN CONTINUE TREND OF INCREASING POPS MID TO LATE WEEK AS SFC HIGH TO THE N MOVE OFFSHORE AND SEA BREEZE CONVECTION BECOMES MORE ACTIVE EACH DAY. && .MARINE... AFTER A VERY BUSY PAST COUPLE OF DAYS...CONDITIONS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS WILL BE QUITE TRANQUIL THROUGH THE WEEK. WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL KEEP WINDS LESS THAN 10 KT THROUGH MON. DIRECTIONS WILL BE DOMINATED BY A DIURNAL SEA BREEZE AND NOCTURNAL LAND BREEZE. BIGGER TEMP DIFFERENCES ON TUE WILL RESULT IN A STRONGER SEA BREEZE. THIS WILL INCREASE WINDS ALONG THE COAST AND IN THE CHS HARBOR ON TUE AFTERNOON TO NEAR 10 KT. THESE LIGHT WINDS WILL KEEP SEAS RATHER FLAT...SUBSIDING FROM 2-4 FT THIS MORNING TO 1-3 FT BY TONIGHT THROUGH THU. && .AVIATION... EARLIER PRECIP AND LIGHT WINDS WILL RESULT IN LOW STRATUS ESPECIALLY AT SAV THROUGH DAY BREAK. WITH FRONT IN AREA...AND DRY AIR ALOFT NOSING INTO SE GA -SHRA AND -TSRA POSSIBLE AT SAV LATER THIS AFTERNOON. MEANWHILE...ATMOS FARTHER NORTH WILL BE MORE STABLE...SO OPTED TO ONLY MENTION -RA AND A CB IN THE CHS TAF. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && 24/JR
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 435 AM EDT SUN AUG 15 2004 GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141-SCZ040-042>045-047>051-160933- ALLENDALE SC-BEAUFORT SC-BERKELEY SC-BULLOCH GA-CANDLER GA- CHARLESTON SC-COASTAL BRYAN GA-COASTAL CHATHAM GA- COASTAL COLLETON SC-COASTAL JASPER SC-COASTAL LIBERTY GA- COASTAL MCINTOSH GA-DORCHESTER SC-EFFINGHAM GA-EVANS GA-HAMPTON SC- INLAND BRYAN GA-INLAND CHATHAM GA-INLAND COLLETON SC- INLAND JASPER SC-INLAND LIBERTY GA-INLAND MCINTOSH GA-JENKINS GA- LONG GA-SCREVEN GA-TATTNALL GA- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALLENDALE...BEAUFORT...CHARLESTON... CLAXTON...DARIEN...EDISTO BEACH...GOOSE CREEK...HAMPTON... HILTON HEAD ISLAND...HINESVILLE...LUDOWICI...MCCLELLANVILLE... METTER...MILLEN...MONCKS CORNER...PEMBROKE...REIDSVILLE... RICHMOND HILL...RIDGELAND...SAINT GEORGE...SAINT STEPHEN... SAVANNAH...SPRINGFIELD...STATESBORO...SUMMERVILLE...SYLVANIA... WALTERBORO AND YEMASSEE 435 AM EDT SUN AUG 15 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA... SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS FROM SOUTH SANTEE RIVER SOUTH CAROLINA TO ALTAMAHA SOUND GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. .STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAINFALL...DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE REMAINS OVER THE REGION. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY WITH SOME OF THE STORMS PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL CAUSING MINOR TEMPORARY FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AND ROADWAYS. A FEW STORMS LATER TODAY COULD BECOME STRONG WITH GUSTY WINDS FROM 40 TO 50 MPH AND SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT. 24
The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:59 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
An estimated 3 to 4 inches of rain fell across downtown Charleston just before high tide. Up to 1 foot of water covered Highway 17, Kent Road, Dorchester Road, and Rutledge Avenue near the Medical University of South Carolina.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, August 2004
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5422541.