4 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 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 Jun 30, 9:05 AM EST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 1005 AM EDT WED JUN 30 2004 .PUBLIC...A FEW SHOWERS/TSTMS FIRED UP OVER THE AREA THIS MORNING ALONG A STRUNG OUT VORT MAX THAT EXTENDS FROM ENE TO SSW ACROSS THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE CWA. A SFC FRONT LINGERS TO THE N OF THE AREA OVER NRN PORTIONS OF SC AND GA. WHILE THE SHOWERS ARE GENERALLY WEAKENING...EXPECT ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT LATER THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING. ATMOSPHERE IS RELATIVELY UNSTABLE BUT OVERALL WIND PROFILES ARE RATHER WEAK. IF CONVECTION CAN GET ORGANIZED WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO AN ISOLATED HAIL OR STRONG WIND PRODUCER. PW VALUES AROUND 2 INCHES SO HEAVY RAIN WITH DRAINAGE PROBLEMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE GIVEN RELATIVELY SLOW MOVEMENT TO STORMS AND POTENTIAL TRAINING ALONG BNDRIES. WITH ONSHORE FLOW AND EARLY DAY CLOUDS OVER MUCH OF MAINLY THE SC PORTION OF THE AREA...EXPECT MAX TEMPS TO BE LOWER THAN YDAY BY A FEW DEGREES. SEA BREEZE MAY BE DELAYED...HOWEVER GIVEN WRLY FLOW THAT MUST BE OVERCOME OFF THE SFC. WINDS SHOULD SHIFT TO S TO SE THIS AFTN. SEA BREEZE WILL PROVIDE ANOTHER FOCUS FOR TSTM ACTIVITY ALONG WITH ANY OUTFLOWS FROM INLAND CONVECTION. DO NOT ANTICIPATE AN UPDATE TO THE PUBLIC FCST OTHER THAN TO REMOVE AFTN WORDING FROM THE FCST. && .MARINE...LATEST OBS INDICATE WINDS AROUND 10 KT WITH SEAS LESS THAN 3 FT. WINDS ARE CURRENTLY SWRLY BUT SHOULD BECOME MORE S TO SE THIS AFTN. WILL INDICATE THIS SHIFT IN THE UPDATE WITH NO OTHER CHANGES ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 541 AM EDT WED JUN 30 2004 AMZ330-350-352-354-374-GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141-SCZ040- 042>045-047>051-011000- ALLENDALE-BEAUFORT-BERKELEY-BULLOCH-CANDLER-CHARLESTON-COASTAL BRYAN- COASTAL CHATHAM-COASTAL COLLETON-COASTAL JASPER-COASTAL LIBERTY- COASTAL MCINTOSH-DORCHESTER-EFFINGHAM-EVANS-HAMPTON-INLAND BRYAN- INLAND CHATHAM-INLAND COLLETON-INLAND JASPER-INLAND LIBERTY- INLAND MCINTOSH-JENKINS-LONG-SCREVEN-TATTNALL- 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 541 AM EDT WED JUN 30 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...THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW OF THE STORMS TO BECOME STRONG. WINDS GUSTS PAST 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE...ALONG WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES AND LOCALIZED FLOODING DUE TO VERY HEAVY RAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. .STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...THERE IS AGAIN A CHANCE OF A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOON...WITH GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAINS THE MAIN WEATHER HAZARDS. .SHALLOW COASTAL FLOODING...BECAUSE OF THE APPROACHING FULL MOON AND LUNAR PERIGEE...AND THE UPCOMING APHELION...TIDE LEVELS ALONG COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA MAY REACH ABOVE NORMAL INTO THIS WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY NOT BE REQUIRED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 142 PM EDT WED JUN 30 2004 SCZ050-301830- CHARLESTON- 142 PM EDT WED JUN 30 2004 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT CHARLESTON COUNTY THROUGH 230 PM EDT... AT 142 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CENTERED OVER AWENDAW...OR ABOUT 8 MILES WEST OF MCCLELLANVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT LESS THAN 5 MPH. THIS STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND AROUND AWENDAW...BUCK HALL AND MCCLELLANVILLE THROUGH 230 PM EDT. HAIL UP TO ONE HALF INCH IN DIAMETER...EXCESSIVE CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS OF 45 TO 55 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED.
The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 140 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:13 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds knocked down a tree and a large limb.
Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees.
Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees along Highways 321 and 278.
Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
Lightning struck a couple while they were riding a jet ski. The man was killed and the woman received minor injuries.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Berkeley | 2004-06-30 | 39 | Male | Boat | Direct |
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, June 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5403637, 5403638, 5403639, 5403640, 5403641.