South Carolina, 2009

Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 29, 2009

May 29, 2009 · NWS CHS · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

A strong cold front in combination with the sea breeze and an unstable air mass, resulted in numerous severe thunderstorms across southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia.

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
$4,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 CHS wrote it up.

A strong cold front in combination with the sea breeze and an unstable air mass, resulted in numerous severe thunderstorms across southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia.

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 Charleston, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 29, 3:19 PM EST, 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 29, 3:19 PM EST, 2 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 29, 2:22 PM EST, 59 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
322 PM EDT FRI MAY 29 2009

AMZ330-350-352-354-GAZ099>101-114>119-137>141-SCZ040-042>045-047>051-
301100-
CHARLESTON HARBOR-
WATERS FROM SOUTH SANTEE RIVER TO EDISTO BEACH SC OUT 20 NM-
WATERS FROM EDISTO BEACH SC TO SAVANNAH GA OUT 20 NM-
WATERS FROM SAVANNAH GA TO ALTAMAHA SOUND GA OUT 20 NM...INCLUDING
GRAYS REEF NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY-CANDLER-BULLOCH-EFFINGHAM-
TATTNALL-EVANS-INLAND BRYAN-COASTAL BRYAN-INLAND CHATHAM-
COASTAL CHATHAM-LONG-INLAND LIBERTY-COASTAL LIBERTY-INLAND MCINTOSH-
COASTAL MCINTOSH-ALLENDALE-HAMPTON-INLAND COLLETON-DORCHESTER-
BERKELEY-INLAND JASPER-BEAUFORT-COASTAL COLLETON-CHARLESTON-
COASTAL JASPER-
322 PM EDT FRI MAY 29 2009

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 315 IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT THIS
EVENING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL
WATERS...SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

AMZ374-GAZ087-088-301100-
WATERS FROM SAVANNAH GA TO ALTAMAHA SOUND GA EXTENDING FROM 20 TO
60 NM-JENKINS-SCREVEN-
322 PM EDT FRI MAY 29 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS AND
SOUTHEAST GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 29, 2:41 PM EST, 40 minutes before
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Special weather statement, May 29, 2:45 PM EST, 36 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 29, 2:58 PM EST, 23 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 29, 3:06 PM EST, 15 minutes before
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Special weather statement, May 29, 3:11 PM EST, 10 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 29, 3:21 PM EST, 0 minutes before
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The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 23 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jasper

When
May 29, 3:21 PM EST
Where
Jasper County, 0.9 mi SW of Tillman
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$500
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
32.460, -81.110

Law Enforcement reported a tree down on Fanhill Road in Tillman, South Carolina.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jasper

When
May 29, 3:21 PM EST
Where
Jasper County, Tarboro
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$500
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
32.530, -81.150

Law Enforcement reported a tree down on Cotton Hill Road in Tarboro, South Carolina.

Thunderstorm Wind, Beaufort

When
May 29, 3:50 PM EST
Where
Beaufort County, 2.07 mi N of Beaufort Co Arpt
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
32.450, -80.630

Emergency Management relayed a report from the county warning point of downed power lines on Lady's Island.

Hail, Berkeley

When
May 29, 4:05 PM EST
Where
Berkeley County, 0.69 mi N of Honey Hill
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
33.190, -79.580

The public reported pea to nickel size hail 10 miles northwest of McClellanville, South Carolina.

Thunderstorm Wind, Charleston

When
May 29, 4:46 PM EST
Where
Charleston County, 0.58 mi E of Midland Park
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
32.920, -80.020

Television media relayed a report of trees down in Hanahan, South Carolina.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 175176, 175180, 175169, 175172, 175174.