South Carolina, 2010

Tornado and Flash Flood in South Carolina, May 17, 2010

May 17, 2010 · NWS CAE · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A few strong storms that also produced locally heavy rain developed ahead of an approaching cold front.

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

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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 CAE wrote it up.

A few strong storms that also produced locally heavy rain developed ahead of an approaching cold front.

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 11 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:15 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Richland

When
May 17, 2:15 PM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where
Richland County, 0.37 mi ENE of Columbia to 0.41 mi SSW of Columbia
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates
34.002, -81.014

Radar...rain gauge data and stream gage data along with a NWS survey, public and media reports indicated flash flooding in the Rocky Branch Creek Basin. Rainfall amounts from 2 to nearly 2.50 inches in one hour were reported in the vicinity of the 5 Pts and Whaley Mill areas of Columbia. Many businesses and some roads were flooding during the event. The Rocky Branch Creek at Whaley St reached 11.2 feet, which is 4.0 feet above the flood stage of 7.2 feet.

Tornado, Fairfield

When
May 17, 5:07 PM EST to 5:10 PM EST
Where
Fairfield County, 3.87 mi SSE of Rion to 4.14 mi SSE of Rion
Rating
EF0
Path length
0.41 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
34.251, -81.097

Public reported a weak EF0 tornado in rural Fairfield County.

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.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Carolina, 2010Warnings in South Carolina, May 2010

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: 220684, 220675.