The combination of long duration drought conditions, hot temperatures and low humidity values, allowed lightning to start the Terrell Mill Pond Wildfire in southeast Georgia.
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 episode as NWS CHS wrote it up.
The combination of long duration drought conditions, hot temperatures and low humidity values, allowed lightning to start the Terrell Mill Pond Wildfire in southeast Georgia.
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, 9:16 PM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 1016 PM EDT THU JUN 30 2011 .SYNOPSIS... A WEAK FRONT WILL DISSIPATE OVER THE AREA TONIGHT AS WEAK HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS FROM THE OHIO VALLEY. ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN PREVAIL THROUGH THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION AND STALL JUST NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA MIDWEEK. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING/... CONVECTION HAS ALL BUT DISSIPATED THIS EVENING WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING AND OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES HAVING WORKED OVER MUCH OF THE LOW-LEVEL INSTABILITY. WITH LITTLE SUPPORT FROM UPPER DYNAMICS OVERNIGHT...WILL MAINTAIN DRY FORECAST. THE SMOKE THAT EARLIER ADVECTED INTO THE AREA FROM THE NC WILDFIRES APPEARS TO HAVE DISPERSED PER THE LATEST SURFACE OBS IN THE TRI-COUNTY AREA. WITH LITTLE IN THE WAY OF ATMOSPHERIC MIXING EXPECTED OVERNIGHT THE CHANCE FOR MORE SMOKE TO MOVE IN ARE LOW. THEREFORE WE REMOVED SMOKE FROM THE FORECAST. DECENT RADIATIONAL COOLING WITHIN LIGHT WINDS AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WILL ALLOW LOW TEMPERATURES TO FALL TO AROUND 70 AWAY FROM THE LOCALLY WARMER COASTLINE. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY/... FRIDAY...IF THE DEWPOINT BOUNDARY LINGERS OVER SOUTHERN COUNTIES INTO THE AFTERNOON...THIS BOUNDARY AND THE SEA BREEZE COULD SUPPORT A FEW DIURNAL THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE SOUTH. HOWEVER...12Z GUIDANCE OFFERS NO COMPELLING REASON TO RAISE MAXIMUM POPS ABOVE THE ONGOING 14 PERCENT. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...THE UPPER RIDGE WILL BUILD EAST INTO THE REGION. THE RESULTING SUBSIDENCE/CAPPING SHOULD LIMIT COVERAGE/PERSISTENCE OF DIURNAL SEA BREEZE THUNDERSTORMS...THUS HELD MAXIMUM POPS AT OR BELOW 14 PERCENT...WITH NO EXPLICIT MENTION OF RAIN...THROUGH THE PERIOD. BECAUSE THE REGION WILL REMAIN SITUATED ON THE EASTERN RIM OF THE UPPER RIDGE...THE DOOR WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR ANY ORGANIZED CONVECTION TO ADVANCE INTO THE AREA FROM THE N/NW. HOWEVER...12Z GUIDANCE OFFERS NO STRONG REASON TO RAISE POPS AT THIS TIME. MEANWHILE...BY SUNDAY HEAT INDICES COULD APPROACH THE ADVISORY LEVEL OF 105F IN SOME LOCATIONS. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... SLIGHT CHANCE POPS MONDAY WILL INCREASE TO CHANCE POPS TUESDAY...AS LIGHT ONSHORE FLOW RETURNS BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE OVER THE REGION AND LEE SIDE TROUGHING DEVELOPS OVER THE MIDLANDS. THE BEST CHANCE OF PRECIP WILL OCCUR TUESDAY WHEN LEE TROUGHING IS ENHANCED BY AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT FROM THE NORTH/NORTHWEST AND A SEABREEZE SHIFTS INLAND. THE FRONT WILL THEN STALL JUST NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA LATE TUESDAY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS THE STALLED BOUNDARY LIFTS NORTHEAST AWAY FROM THE REGION MIDWEEK. OVERALL HIGH TEMPS WILL REACH THE MID/UPPER 90S MONDAY AFTERNOON WITH PRE-FRONTAL WARMING AND 1000-850MB THICKNESS VALUES NEAR 1430 METERS INLAND. HEAT INDICES SHOULD APPROACH 100-104 DEGREES AGAIN...BUT APPEAR TO FALL SHORT OF HEAT ADVISORY CONDITIONS AS DEWPOINTS MIX OUT TO THE UPPER 60S DURING PEAK HEATING HOURS. TEMPS WILL REMAIN A FEW DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL...LOW/MID 90S...TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AS ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE SOUTHEAST. && .AVIATION /02Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... LIGHT SMOKE HAS DISPERSED AT THE KCHS TERMINAL SO WE REMOVED RESTRICTIONS FOR THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD. THERE IS A LOW CHANCE OF SHALLOW GROUND FOG FRI MORNING SINCE IT RAINED QUITE A BIT TODAY BUT CONFIDENCE IS TOO LOW TO INCLUDE. LIGHT FOG MAY DEVELOP AT KSAV DUE TO EARLIER RAINFALL AND CLEARING SKIES PLUS LIGHT WINDS. BEING THAT IT IS NOT A CLASSIC FOG SETUP...WILL CONTINUE WITH ONLY 6SM BR FOR NOW. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...VFR. && .MARINE... CONDITIONS WILL BE RATHER TRANQUIL ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS THROUGH TONIGHT...WITH A FAIRLY LIGHT PRESSURE PATTERN PREVAILING. TYPICAL LAND BREEZE/SEA BREEZE CIRCULATIONS COULD ALLOW FOR BRIEF LOCAL ENHANCEMENTS NEAR SHORE. HOWEVER WIND SPEEDS WILL LIKELY REMAIN LESS THAN 15 KT. OTHER THAN SOME 4 FT SEAS ACROSS THE OUTER GEORGIA WATERS EARLY...SEAS WILL BE 3 FT OR LESS THROUGH TONIGHT. EXPECT TRANQUIL CONDITIONS FRIDAY. EVEN AS THE SEA BREEZE CIRCULATION DEVELOPS IN THE AFTERNOON...WINDS/SEAS WILL REMAIN WELL BELOW SMALL CRAFT THRESHOLDS. SATURDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...INCLUDING JULY 4...A STRONGER SEA BREEZE AND NOCTURNAL SURGING OF S/SW WINDS COULD PUSH WIND SPEEDS CLOSE TO SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY LEVELS AT TIMES. HOWEVER...ODDS FAVOR WINDS 20 KT OR LESS...ACCOMPANIED BY SEAS 4 FT OR LESS...THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && JRL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 405 AM EDT THU JUN 30 2011 AMZ330-350-352-354-374-GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141-SCZ040- 042>045-047>052-010815- 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- WATERS FROM SAVANNAH GA TO ALTAMAHA SOUND GA EXTENDING FROM 20 TO 60 NM-JENKINS-SCREVEN-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-INLAND BERKELEY- INLAND JASPER-BEAUFORT-COASTAL COLLETON-CHARLESTON-COASTAL JASPER- TIDAL BERKELEY- 405 AM EDT THU JUN 30 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS...SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. 33
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Georgia Forestry Commission reported that the Terrell Mill Pond Wildfire, located 2 miles west of Hinesville, Georgia, was started due to a lightning strike on June 28, 2011 and continued to burn until it was contained on July 13, 2011. The fire burned approximately 372 acres.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, July 2011
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: 333593.