South Carolina, 2009

Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in South Carolina, May 27, 2009

May 27, 2009 · NWS GSP · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Slow moving thunderstorms once again brought isolate flash flooding to parts of the Upstate.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

Slow moving thunderstorms once again brought isolate flash flooding to parts of the Upstate.

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 May 27, 6:36 AM EST, 2 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 27, 6:36 AM EST, 2 hours 54 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 27, 3:07 AM EST, 6 hours 23 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, May 27, 7:48 AM EST, 1 hour 42 minutes before
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The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 26 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Anderson

When
May 27, 9:30 AM EST to 10:30 AM EST
Where
Anderson County, 0.41 mi N of Powdersville to 0.99 mi S of Powdersville
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
34.786, -82.480

Cravens Creek overflowed its banks, flooding a portion of River Rd.

Heavy Rain, York

When
May 27, 1:00 PM EST
Where
York County, York
Reported by
County Official
Coordinates
35.000, -81.230

Clogged storm drains lead to water entering a business in the city of York.

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.
Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, May 2009

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 170651, 173552.