Flash Flood, Pickens
- When
- August 23, 4:30 PM EST to 5:30 PM EST
- Where
- Pickens County, Easley
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 34.833, -82.600
Severe urban flooding in the area around Palmetto Baptist Hospital. At least one road was closed.
Flash Flood in South Carolina, August 23, 2005
1 flash flood, 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
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 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 Aug 23, 2:06 PM EST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 2:06 PM EST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 306 PM EDT TUE AUG 23 2005 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)... DEEP CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OFF TO A SLOWER START THAN THE PAST FEW DAYS...LIKELY THE RESULT OF WIDESPREAD MORNING LOW CLDS DELAYING THE DESTABILIZATION PROCESS. NONETHELESS...RECENT 88D RETURNS INDICATING SCATTERED TSTMS ACRS THE MTNS AND ISOLATED ACTIVITY ELSEWHERE. A MODERATE AMOUNT OF WESTERLY STEERING FLOW STILL SHOULD GIVE US NUMEROUS CVRG THROUGH EARLY EVENING BEFORE LOSS OF HTG DIMINISHES CVRG THROUGH MID AND LATE EVENING. STILL EXPECTING THE POSSIBILITY OF ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WITH STRONGER STORMS. OVERNIGHT... ATMOSPHERE REMAINS PRETTY WEAKLY FORCED...YET FAIRLY MOIST...AND DESPITE PRESSURE RISES AS SFC RIDGING STARTS TO NOSE SWWD... STILL COULD BE ISOLATED SHOWERS THROUGH DAYBREAK. SHORT WAVE MOVING THRU THE UPPER TROF OVER THE EAST COAST DEEPENS THE TROF A LITTLE WED...BEFORE WEAK RIDGING DEVELOPS THU...FOLLOWED BY NEARLY ZONAL FLOW FRI. SFC FNT SLOWLY MOVES SOUTH OF THE AREA LATE WED AS SFC RIDGING BUILDS INTO A DAMMING CONFIGURATION BY THU AND HOLDS ON THRU FRI. WILL BE QUITE A SW TO NE MOISTURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE AREA WED. HOWEVER EVEN NRN SECTIONS WILL BE A SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE...SO POP GRADIENT WILL EXIST FROM CHC SOUTH...TO SLIGHT CHC NORTH. THU LOOKS TO BE DRY WITH SFC RIDGE BRINGING DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIR INTO THE AREA. RETURN TO DIURNAL SLGHT CHC FOR THE MTNS FRI WHERE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL BE GREATER ON THE FRINGE OF THE SFC HIGH. TEMPS NEAR TO A LITTLE BELOW NORMAL. && .LONG TERM (FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)... NEARLY ZONAL FLOW CONTINUES THRU THE PERIOD. SFC RIDGE ABATES ALLOWING SOME RETURN FLOW TO DEVELOP. CURRENT CONSENSUS IS FOR ANY TROPICAL DEVELOPMENT TO REMAIN SOUTH OF THE AREA...SO HAVE GONE AWAY FROM THE GFS AND FOLLOWED THAT THINKING. WHAT THIS MEANS IS A SLOW RETURN TO MAINLY DIURNAL CHC POP WITH NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL TEMPS. && .AVIATION... DIURNALLY FIRED DISORGANIZED DEEP CONVECTIVE THREAT RESULTS IN JUST A VCTS FOR THE TIME BEING AT ALL THE TAF SITES THROUGH MID-EVENING. HAZE/BR COULD REDEVELOP BEFORE MIDNIGHT IN A FEW LOCALES...BUT FOR NOW...WILL KEEP VSBYS IN THE VFR RANGE UNTIL THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...WHEN MAINLY MVFR VSBYS WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE LIKELIHOOD OF AT LEAST MVFR CIGS DEVELOPING DURING THE PRE-DAWN HOURS ON LIGHT NE SFC WIND. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SHORT TERM...CSH/RWH LONG TERM...RWH AVIATION...CSH
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 23, 5:07 AM EST, 11 hours 23 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 607 AM EDT TUE AUG 23 2005 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082- SCZ001>014-019-241015- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-CALDWELL- ALEXANDER-IREDELL-DAVIE-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD- BUNCOMBE-MCDOWELL-BURKE-CATAWBA-ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON- MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA-HENDERSON-POLK-RUTHERFORD- CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC- OCONEE MOUNTAINS-PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS- GREATER OCONEE-GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG- CHEROKEE-YORK-ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER- GREENWOOD- 607 AM EDT TUE AUG 23 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT MUCH OF THE REGION TODAY...WITH THE GREATEST COVERAGE DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTING AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. AS THE STORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVING...ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE...BUT THEY WILL BE SLOW MOVING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON. MCAVOY
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 23, 1:20 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 220 PM EDT TUE AUG 23 2005 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082- SCZ001>014-019-232030- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-CALDWELL- ALEXANDER-IREDELL-DAVIE-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD- BUNCOMBE-MCDOWELL-BURKE-CATAWBA-ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON- MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA-HENDERSON-POLK-RUTHERFORD- CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC- OCONEE MOUNTAINS-PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS- GREATER OCONEE-GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG- CHEROKEE-YORK-ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER- GREENWOOD- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CLAYTON...CLARKESVILLE...TOCCOA... HARTWELL...ELBERTON...NEWLAND...STATESVILLE...MOCKSVILLE... SPRUCE PINE...CHEROKEE...WAYNESVILLE...ASHEVILLE...MARION... MORGANTON...HICKORY...SALISBURY...SYLVA...FRANKLIN...BREVARD... HENDERSONVILLE...COLUMBUS...RUTHERFORDTON...SHELBY...LINCOLNTON... GASTONIA...CHARLOTTE...CONCORD...MONROE...GREENVILLE... SPARTANBURG...GAFFNEY...ROCK HILL...ANDERSON...ABBEVILLE... LAURENS...UNION...CHESTER...GREENWOOD 220 PM EDT TUE AUG 23 2005 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... DESPITE RATHER THICK LOW CLOUD COVER...WHICH DELAYED HEATING OF THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE TODAY...SOME STRONG STORMS WILL ONCE AGAIN AFFECT THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. AS IN RECENT DAYS...THERE WILL BE THE THREAT OF ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER IN THE FORM OF DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. THERE WILL ALSO BE A THREAT OF LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING...ESPECIALLY WHERE STORMS REPEAT ACROSS URBAN AREAS. ALTHOUGH IT COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE IN THE FORECAST AREA...THE STRONGEST STORMS ARE AGAIN EXPECTED IN FOOTHILL AND PIEDMONT LOCATIONS FROM NORTHEAST GEORGIA...ACROSS UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...TO THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT IN NORTH CAROLINA. SOME HEAVY RAINFALL WAS ALREADY AFFECTING THE CHARLOTTE METRO AREA AT MID AFTERNOON...AND STRONG STORMS WERE DEVELOPING IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA...JUST WEST OF CLAYTON AND CORNELIA. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS...OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA SOURCE FOR LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. JONES
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 35 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:29 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flood and High Wind in Alaska, August 23, 2005
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Mississippi, August 23, 2005
- Heavy Rain in North Carolina, August 23, 2005
- Flash Flood in Arizona, August 23, 2005
- Flood in Arizona, August 23, 2005
- Flash Flooding and Hail in New Mexico, August 23, 2005
- Hail in Kansas, August 23, 2005
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, August 23, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Dakota, August 23, 2005
- Hail in Colorado, August 23, 2005
- Hail in Wyoming, August 23, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Colorado, August 23, 2005
More
Every storm in South Carolina in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, August 2005
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: 5472836.