Hail, Chester
- When
- August 29, 3:10 PM EST
- Where
- Chester County, 2.15 mi NNW of Baldwin Mills
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Fire Department/Rescue
- Coordinates
- 34.730, -81.240
Scattered thunderstorms developed over the northwest piedmont of South Carolina during the afternoon hours. A couple of the storms reached severe limits, producing large hail and damaging winds.
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 GSP wrote it up.
Scattered thunderstorms developed over the northwest piedmont of South Carolina during the afternoon hours. A couple of the storms reached severe limits, producing large hail and damaging winds.
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 Aug 29, 1:52 PM EST, 1 hour 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 252 PM EDT MON AUG 29 2011 .SYNOPSIS... A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL TO MOVE INTO THE CAROLINAS AND DOMINATE OUR WEATHER THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE AREA BY THE END OF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/... MID AFTERNOON SURFACE MAP FEATURES A NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST GRADIENT OF MOISTURE AND STABILITY OVER THE CWA. SURFACE DEW POINTS IN THE WEST ARE IN THE LOWER AND MIDDLE 50S WHILE EASTERN ZONES HAVE MID 60 DEW POINTS. ALONG WITH THIS MOISTURE TRANSITION... CAPES ARE CLOSE TO 1000 J/KG IN THE EAST LOWERING TO LESS THAN 100 J/KG IN THE FAR WEST. THE SHORT WAVE TROUGH ALOFT MOVING INTO THE AREA IS PRODUCING UPWARD MOTION ACROSS THE CWA PER THE QG DIAGNOSTICS. THE COMBINATION OF LIFT AND LIMITED INSTABILITY IS PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THERE COULD BE A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE THE INSTABILITY IS INSUFFICIENT TO PRODUCE VERY STRONG UPDRAFTS... ALTHOUGH A STRONG STORM OR TWO COULD OCCUR IN THE FAR EAST WHICH IS CLOSER TO THE MORE UNSTABLE AIR MASS NEAR THE COAST. HIGH PRESSURE TO THE NORTH AND A WEAK LOW TO THE SOUTH WILL PRODUCE LIGHT NORTHEAST SURFACE WIND INTO THE EVENING. TONIGHT... THE SHORT WAVE TROUGH ALOFT WILL MOVE EAST OF THE AREA OVERNIGHT TAKING WITH IT THE FORCING FOR UPWARD MOTION. ISOLATED SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING BUT GRADUALLY DISSIPATE. MODELS ARE INDICATING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL INCREASE SUFFICIENTLY OVERNIGHT TO PRODUCE STRATUS AND STRATOCUMULUS CLOUDS. CLOUDS AND LIGHT NORTHEAST WIND WILL LIKELY DIMINISH THE CHANCE OF FOG EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS BUT MOUNTAIN VALLEYS LIKELY TO HAVE FOG FORM DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES ON TUESDAY WILL BE IN THE MID 80S OUTSIDE THE MOUNTAINS AND IN THE UPPER 70S AND LOWER 80S IN THE MOUNTAINS. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 200 PM MON...A SE UPSLOPE FLOW WILL DEVELOP AROUND SFC HIGH PRES TO THE NE TUE NIGHT...WITH UPSLOPE FLOW INCREASING INTO THE SRN APPALACHIANS. INCREASING CLOUDS IN THE MOISTENING BOUNDARY LAYER WILL BE THE MAIN CONSEQUENCE...BUT LIGHT PRECIPITATION COULD BE WRUNG OUT ALONG THE UPSLOPE PREFERRED AREAS. THE NAM AND SREF FEATURE THIS...SO WILL ADVERTISE MAINLY SLIGHT CHANCES FOR SHOWERS IN ERN ESCARPMENT AREAS TOWARD DAYBREAK WED MORNING. THE MORNING CLOUDS WILL LIFT AND SCATTER TO ALLOW INSTABILITY TO INCREASE THROUGH THE AFTN HOURS AS TEMPS RISE A BIT ABOVE NORMAL. A SHORTWAVE MAY BRUSH THE EXTREME NRN TIER OF THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE DAY WED...BUT ANY BETTER FORCING WILL BE NORTH OF THE AREA. WILL CONFINE WEDNESDAY POPS TO SLIGHT CHANCES IN MAINLY MTN AND NRN NC FOOTHILL SECTIONS. STRONGER HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN RIDGE OVER INTO THE FORECAST AREA WED NIGHT THROUGH THU. DESPITE THE RIDGING...DEEPER LAYER MOISTURE WILL ACTUALLY INCREASE IN THE PROFILES. LOW LEVEL WIND CONVERGENCE AND DIFFERENTIAL HEATING WILL PROVIDE THE MAIN FORCING...WITH CHC MTN POPS AND SCHC POPS OVER THE ADJACENT FOOTHILLS THROUGH THU AFTN. TEMPS SHOULD WARM A DEGREE OR TWO MOST AREAS EXCEPT THE NC PIEDMONT. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... AS OF 130 PM MONDAY...NO MAJOR CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE EXT RANGE. THE MODELS CONTINUE TO AGREE WELL WITH THE STRENGTHENING RIDGE OFF TO THE WEST THU AND A GENERAL SUBSIDENCE ZONE ENGULFING THE CWFA. THE HPC HAS PUT MUCH STOCK IN THE ECMWF AND ECMWF ENS CITING PREVIOUS CONTINUITY...WHICH IS GOOD BECAUSE THE LATEST GFS IS SIMILAR WITH THE MASS FIELDS AND UPPER ENERGY STRUCTURE WITH THE PATTERN AND EVENTUAL FRONTAL SYSTEM BY DAY 7. THE MID LEVELS REMAIN WARM THROUGH THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF THE FCST PERIOD WITH WEAK UPPER ENERGY POCKETS TRAVERSING THE AREA. THIS WILL LIMIT SBCAPE TO RATHER LOW VALUES OUTSIDE THE MTNS THROUGH SAT...SO SLIGHT CHC POPS ARE GOOD THERE. THE NC MTNS WILL HAVE A BIT ADDED LIFT AND SCATTERED DIURNAL TSTMS EACH AFTERNOON BE BUMPED UP JUST A BIT THERE. THE BIGGEST CHANGE WAS MADE WITH THE FROPA...EXPECTED LATE SUN EARLY MON...AND POPS WERE BUMPED UP TO LOW END CHANCE ACROSS THE CWFA DURING THIS TIME. THERE ISNT MUCH UPPER SUPPORT AND H100-H50 Q/VECTOR CONV IS MINIMAL...HOWEVER A DECENT AMOUNT OF SBCAPE AND TD POOLING AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL MAKE FOR AN UNSTABLE ATMOS AND A GOOD LINE OF ORGANIZED TSTMS ARE PROBABLE...SOME OF WHICH COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE. MAX TEMPS WILL REMAIN ABOUT 5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL EACH AFTERNOON AND LOWS WILL WILL REMAIN HIGH AS WELL WITH NO AIRMASS CHANGE AND A S/LY LLVL FLOW IN PLACE. A MODERATE AIRMASS CHANGE AND INCREASED CLOUDINESS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FROPA WILL RETURN MAX TEMPS TO AROUND NORMAL FOR MON. && .AVIATION /19Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... AT KCLT...SCATTERED TO OCCASIONALLY BROKEN CLOUDS BETWEEN 6K AND 8K FT WILL PREVAIL DURING THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR IN THE PIEDMONT... BUT CONFIDENCE TOO LOW TO INCLUDE IN TAF AT THIS TIME. NORTHEAST SURFACE WIND GENERALLY LESS THAN 10 KT WILL CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHT. NORTHEAST FLOW WILL TRANSPORT MOISTURE INTO THE TERMINAL AREA WHICH IS LIKELY TO GENERATE STRATUS NEAR 5K FT BY 06Z LOWERING TO AROUND 15 HND FT BY 09Z. AFTER SUNRISE CLOUD BASES WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE TO 4K FT. ELSEWHERE...SCATTERED TO BROKEN CLOUD 4K TO 6 KT WILL EXIST DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED PRIMARILY EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS. AFTER SUNSET SHOWERS WILL DIMINISH. AFTER 04Z STRATUS NEAR 4K FT WILL GRADUALLY LOWER TO AROUND 15 HND FEET BY 09Z... SPECIALLY EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS. VISIBILITY LESS THAN 3 MILES IN FOG LIKELY IN MOUNTAIN VALLEYS BETWEEN 09Z AND 13Z. OUTLOOK...ISOLATED SHRA AND SOME MORNING OBSCURATIONS IN FOG POSSIBLE IN THE MTNS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. OTHERWISE DRY WITH FEW IF ANY RESTRICTIONS EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY. AN EXPERIMENTAL AVIATION FORECAST CONSISTENCY TABLE SHOWING THE PERCENTAGE OF GUIDANCE MEMBERS AGREEING WITH THE SCHEDULED ISSUANCE CATEGORY IS AVAILABLE AT FOLLOWING LINK (USE LOWER CASE)... WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GSP/AVIATION/TABLES.HTM && .CLIMATE... GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS RECORDED HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER 82 TIMES THIS YEAR AS OF AUGUST 29. THIS IS THE SECOND GREATEST NUMBER OF 90 DEGREE OR WARMER DAYS IN ANY YEAR. THE GREATEST NUMBER OF 90 DEGREE OR GREATER MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES WAS 84 BACK IN 1954. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...SBK NEAR TERM...LGL SHORT TERM...HG LONG TERM...SBK AVIATION...LGL CLIMATE...HG/JAT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 520 AM EDT MON AUG 29 2011 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065- 068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-300930- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-ALEXANDER- IREDELL-DAVIE-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-CATAWBA- ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA- HENDERSON-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC- CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE- MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL-RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS- GREATER RUTHERFORD-POLK MOUNTAINS-EASTERN POLK-OCONEE MOUNTAINS- PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS-GREATER OCONEE- GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-CHEROKEE-YORK- ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 520 AM EDT MON AUG 29 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE GUSTY WINDS AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
402 PM EDT MON AUG 29 2011
SCZ009-014-292045-
CHESTER-YORK-
402 PM EDT MON AUG 29 2011
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT CHESTER AND SOUTHEASTERN YORK
COUNTIES THROUGH 445 PM EDT...
AT 401 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES NORTH OF CHESTER...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
PEOPLE IN CHESTER AND SOUTHEASTERN YORK COUNTIES...INCLUDING THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
CHESTER...LOWRYS AND CATAWBA...
SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION CLOSELY. LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD SEVERE
WEATHER THREATEN.
SMALL HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.
LAT...LON 3467 8088 3458 8142 3464 8142 3465 8143
3480 8146 3506 8090 3486 8086 3484 8086
3482 8089 3477 8086 3474 8087 3470 8085
MOOREThe Columbia radar (KCAE), 88 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:10 UTC.
2 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Public reported dime to quarter size hail on Langley Dr.
Two trees were blown down along Stringfellow Rd.
A tree was blown down on Old Catholic Church Rd at highway 97 and another tree down on Mountain Gap Rd in the Rossville area.
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: 343874, 343876, 344826, 343881.