Widely scattered severe thunderstorms developed over portions of the Midlands and produced some wind damage, mainly taking down trees and some powerlines. Training thunderstorms also produced 2 to 4 inches of rain over downtown Columbia causing flash flooding in Maxcy Park, Five Points, and USC.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 CAE wrote it up.
Widely scattered severe thunderstorms developed over portions of the Midlands and produced some wind damage, mainly taking down trees and some powerlines. Training thunderstorms also produced 2 to 4 inches of rain over downtown Columbia causing flash flooding in Maxcy Park, Five Points, and USC. Several vehicles were submerged.
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 Columbia, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 11, 1:29 PM EST, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 229 PM EDT THU AUG 11 2011 .SYNOPSIS... A WEAK TROUGH WILL REMAIN NEAR THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH SATURDAY. AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA SUNDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON... CONVERGENCE INTO THE SURFACE TROUGH AND HEATING WILL HELP SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...EXPECT THE CONVERGENCE WILL BE WEAK WITH MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE RIDGING. EXPECT COVERAGE WILL LIKELY REMAIN SCATTERED. TEMPERATURES WILL PEAK IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 90S WITH HEAT INDEX VALUES IN THE EAST AND SOUTH SECTIONS NEARING 105. THROUGH TONIGHT... THE SURFACE TROUGH AND A MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH MAY SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT...MAINLY EARLY AND CLOSER TO THE TIME OF MAXIMUM HEATING. EXPECT LIMITED COVERAGE BECAUSE OF MOISTURE SOMEWHAT SHALLOW AND THE LOSS OF HEATING. FORECASTED CHANCE POPS WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY AN AVERAGE OF THE MAV AND MET MOS PLUS THE SREF GUIDANCE. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... THE SURFACE TROUGH LINGERING NEAR THE AREA PLUS A SERIES OF MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGHS IN THE WESTERLY AND DIFLUENT FLOW SUPPORTS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. HOWEVER...COVERAGE SHOULD BE LIMITED BECAUSE THE TROUGH AND STRONGER CONVERGENCE MAY OCCUR JUST SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. ALSO...CLOUDINESS SHOULD LIMIT INSTABILITY. FORECASTED CHANCE POPS WHICH WAS SUPPORTED BY THE GUIDANCE CONSENSUS. THE CLOUDINESS SHOULD HELP HOLD DOWN TEMPERATURES AND EXPECT HIGHS LOWER THAN WHAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED LATELY. USED THE CONSENSUS FOR THE TEMPERATURES FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... THE GREATEST THUNDERSTORM CHANCE WILL LIKELY BE SUNDAY. THE GFS HAS BEEN CONSISTENT SHOWING A COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE AREA. THE FRONT APPEARS TO SHIFT EAST OF THE REGION MONDAY WITH DRY RIDGING DOMINATING TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. SOME MOISTURE RECOVERY WILL LIKELY OCCUR THURSDAY. && .AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... NEARLY STATIONARY WEAK BOUNDARY REMAINS DRAPED OVER THE CENTRAL SC MIDLANDS. SCTD-BKN MID-LEVEL CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. ISOLD/SCTD CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THIS EVENING...SO WILL INCLUDE MENTION OF CB IN THE TAFS. BUFKIT TIME-SECTIONS INDICATING MID-LEVEL CLOUDS WILL LINGER THROUGHOUT THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...BUT SOME OCNL BREAKS MAY OCCUR WHICH MAY ALLOW SOME MVFR FOG TO DEVELOP AT FOG-PRONE AREAS SUCH AS AGS AND OGB. OTHERWISE GENERALLY VFR CONDITIONS ACROSS THE CWA DURING THE TAF PERIOD. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...MVFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE MAINLY IN PATCHY MORNING FOG AND AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS. && .CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. GA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 620 AM EDT THU AUG 11 2011 GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-121030- LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD- MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON- RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON- BAMBERG- 620 AM EDT THU AUG 11 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA AND CENTRAL 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.
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:25 UTC.
7 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Public reported several trees down on Ebenezer Road.
EM reported dime size hail in Whitmire.
SCEMD reported several trees down on Maybinton Road.
Sheriff reported trees down along Sessions Road near Twenty Five Mile Creek.
Sheriff reported several trees down across Tee Pee Trail Road.
The State newspaper reported several trees down in the city.
Public reported widespread structural damage. Outstorage buildings were blown apart, roof damage to a house and a front porch moved.
DOT reported a few trees down near Mill Creeks Road and Silver Bell Lane.
Heavy rains from training thunderstorms produced flash flooding in downtown Columbia in the Maxcy Park, Five Points, and USC areas. Water levels rose to as high as 4 to 6 feet in some areas submerging a few vehicles.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, August 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: 321567, 321566, 321570, 321568, 321569, 322389, 321571, 321572, 321565.