Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, June 15, 2011

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, June 15, 2011
Start: 2011-06-15T17:25
End: 2011-06-15T19:19
Location: South Carolina

June 15, 2011 · NWS GSP · 21 events in 8 counties and zones

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: $300,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 21

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 GSP wrote it up.

An environment of moderate wind shear and moderate instability overspread the western Carolinas during the afternoon hours, with bulk shear values over 40 kts. A line of severe storms developed over eastern Tennessee during the late afternoon hours and swept across the central and southwestern mountains. The storms held together as they crossed the mountains, and the line quickly moved across the South Carolina upstate, causing considerable wind damage and a few areas of large hail.

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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 15, 2:32 PM EST, 2 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 15, 2:32 PM EST, 2 hours 53 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
332 PM EDT WED JUN 15 2011

.SYNOPSIS...
A FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT. THE FRONT WILL
LINGER NEAR THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM THURSDAY MORNING/...
CONVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK SURFACE FRONT PLUS MOISTURE AND
INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH A MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH SHOULD
RESULT IN NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. MODERATE
INSTABILITY AND WEAK TO MODERATE SHEAR SHOULD RESULT IN ORGANIZED
THUNDERSTORMS. EXPECT A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WIND AND
HAIL. CLOUDINESS SHOULD HELP HOLD UP TEMPERATURES AND THE GUIDANCE
MAY BE A LITTLE TOO WARM.

&&

.SHORT TERM /6 AM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/...
THE NAM AND GFS SHOW DEEPER MOISTURE SHIFTING EAST OF THE FORECAST
AREA BEHIND THE MAIN MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH THURSDAY.
HOWEVER...THE MODELS KEEP THE WEAK SURFACE TROUGH IN THE AREA WITH
RELATIVELY COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS BUT
COVERAGE SHOULD BE LIMITED BY MOISTURE. THE NAM AND GFS MOS
SUPPORT SLIGHT CHANCE OR CHANCE POPS. THE NAM INDICATES SURFACE-
BASED LI/S -4 TO -8 SO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY OCCUR.

&&

.LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
MODELS IN GENERAL AGREEMENT ON AN UPPER RIDGE REMAINING ANCHORED
OVER THE MID SOUTH WHILE THE FORECAST STAYS WITHIN THE
NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE HIGH. IN THE LOW
LEVELS...A FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS SHOWN TO REMAIN STALLED OUT ACROSS
THE AREA...KEEPING THE AREA WITHIN DEEPER MOISTURE AND
CONVERGENCE. KEPT THE GOING FORECAST OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES
AND MAINLY A DIURNAL POP TREND (CHANCE MOUNTAINS AND SLIGHT CHANCE
PIEDMONT) EACH AFTERNOON.

&&

.AVIATION /20Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
AT KCLT...HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE REGION WILL WEAKEN THIS AFTERNOON
AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST LATE TONIGHT AND
THURSDAY MORNING. MOISTURE FLUX WILL INCREASE OVER THE FORECAST
AREA THIS EVENING. INITIAL VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME
MVFR MAINLY BECAUSE OF CIGS 2-3 KFT AND SOME VSBYS 4-5 MILES IN
SHOWERS. BRIEF IFR CONDITIONS MAY OCCUR IN HEAVIER SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS FROM 04Z-14Z THURSDAY MORNING. COLD FRONT SHOULD
MOVE THROUGH THE AREA LATE THURSDAY MORNING 14Z-16Z TIME FRAME.
AFTER 14Z...MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED.

ELSEWHERE...HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE REGION WILL WEAKEN THIS AFTERNOON
AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST LATE TONIGHT AND
THURSDAY MORNING. MOISTURE FLUX WILL INCREASE OVER THE FORECAST
AREA THIS EVENING. INITIAL VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME
MVFR MAINLY BECAUSE OF CIGS 2-3 KFT AND SOME VSBYS 4-5 MILES IN
SHOWERS. BRIEF IFR CONDITIONS MAY OCCUR IN HEAVIER SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS FROM 04Z-14Z THURSDAY MORNING. COLD FRONT SHOULD
MOVE THROUGH THE AREA LATE THURSDAY MORNING 14Z-16Z TIME FRAME.
AFTER 14Z...MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED.

EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...DIURNALLY CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WITH
DAYTIME HEATING AS IMPULSES MOVING ACROSS THE REGION IN THE
NORTHWEST FLOW INTO NEXT TUESDAY WILL PRODUCE BRIEF PERIODS OF
IFR/MVFR CONDITIONS IN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

&&

.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 15, 12:18 PM EST, 5 hours 7 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
118 PM EDT WED JUN 15 2011

GAZ018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-049-050-053-056-057-064-065-
068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-161730-
STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-ALEXANDER-IREDELL-DAVIE-YANCEY-
MITCHELL-BUNCOMBE-CATAWBA-ROWAN-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-
118 PM EDT WED JUN 15 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT
NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT COULD POSSIBLY BECOME
SEVERE. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WIND AND HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

A FRONT WILL EXTEND THROUGH THE AREA THURSDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT
RISK OF SEVERE STORMS ALONG THE FRONT...MAINLY ACROSS THE
PIEDMONT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED.

GAZ010-017-NCZ048-051-052-058-059-062-063-161730-
RABUN-HABERSHAM-MADISON-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-
SOUTHERN JACKSON-
118 PM EDT WED JUN 15 2011

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 478 IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS
EVENING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND WESTERN
NORTH 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 HAZARD.

   SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

A FRONT WILL EXTEND THROUGH THE AREA THURSDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT
RISK OF SEVERE STORMS ALONG THE FRONT...MAINLY ACROSS THE
PIEDMONT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED.

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:25 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Greenville

When: June 15, 5:25 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, 2.07 mi N of Tigerville
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.100, -82.370

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenville

When: June 15, 5:30 PM EST to 5:35 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, 3.51 mi NW of Fairview to 2.19 mi SW of Greenville-Spartanbu
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 34.980, -82.300

Several trees were blown down in the Lake Cunningham area, with one tree on a house. Other trees were down along Main St in Taylors. Another tree fell on and damaged a house near the intersection of Hammett Bridge Rd and South Buncombe Rd. More trees fell in the Silver Leaf area, along Brushy Creek Rd and Old Spartanburg Rd.

Hail, Greenville

When: June 15, 5:30 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, 2.65 mi WNW of Fairview
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 34.970, -82.290

Nickel size hail was reported off North Rutherford Rd.

Thunderstorm Wind, Spartanburg

When: June 15, 5:48 PM EST to 6:05 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, 1.38 mi S of Grnvl Sprtnbrg Arpt to 0.89 mi SW of Woodruff
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 34.880, -82.220

Numerous trees were blown down across the county, from the south side of Greer, to Lyman and Moore, to Reidville and Woodruff. Dozens of trees were blown down on the|property of the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport alone, where a gust of 59 mph was measured by official NWS equipment. Two hangers at the airport were also damaged. In addition, several travel trailers were overturned at a dealership between the airport and I-85. Shingles and siding were also ripped off some homes, particularly in the Reidville area. Some mobile home under-skirting was also blown out near Woodruff.

Hail, Greenville

When: June 15, 5:48 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, 1.99 mi E of Greenville Downtown
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.849, -82.315

Golf ball size hail fell at the Roper Mountain Rd extension.

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenville

When: June 15, 5:50 PM EST
Where: Greenville County, 1.84 mi WSW of Batesville
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.840, -82.260

Multiple large trees were blown down in the Rolling Green Village area.

Hail, Spartanburg

When: June 15, 5:50 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, 0.14 mi S of Holly Spgs
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.998, -82.180

Larger than quarter size hail fell at Ellison Circle.

Hail, Spartanburg

When: June 15, 5:53 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, 0.69 mi S of Campobello
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 35.110, -82.150

Hail, Spartanburg

When: June 15, 5:55 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, 1.33 mi ENE of Cashville
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 34.830, -82.110

Hail up to half dollar size fell about 2 miles south of the Reidville area.

Hail, Spartanburg

When: June 15, 5:55 PM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, 2.19 mi NE of Pelham
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 34.870, -82.190

Several homes along Abners Creek Rd were severely damaged by wind-driven hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Laurens

When: June 15, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Laurens County, 3.25 mi NNE of Cooks Xrds
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 34.770, -82.140

Multiple trees and numerous large limbs were blown down along Coachman Dr in extreme northern Laurens County.

Thunderstorm Wind, Anderson

When: June 15, 6:06 PM EST
Where: Anderson County, 0.24 mi SSE of Williamston
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 34.617, -82.478

Trees and limbs were blown down in the Williamston area, with a large limb on a car on Gossett Dr.

Thunderstorm Wind, Anderson

When: June 15, 6:12 PM EST
Where: Anderson County, Anderson
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 34.500, -82.650

Numerous trees were blown down in and around the city of Anderson.

Lightning, Anderson

When: June 15, 6:15 PM EST
Where: Anderson County, 3.64 mi SSE of Toxaway
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 34.450, -82.600

Lightning struck an unoccupied home on High Shoals Rd, igniting a fire that destroyed the structure.

Thunderstorm Wind, Union

When: June 15, 6:25 PM EST to 6:45 PM EST
Where: Union County, 0.57 mi W of Cross Keys to Santuc
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 34.630, -81.780

Multiple trees were blown down from Cross Keys to the Santuc community.

Thunderstorm Wind, Union

When: June 15, 6:30 PM EST to 6:35 PM EST
Where: Union County, 0.82 mi WNW of Buffalo to 0.43 mi SSW of Union
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 34.725, -81.683

Multiple trees and power lines were blown down from Buffalo to Union.

Thunderstorm Wind, Abbeville

When: June 15, 6:50 PM EST
Where: Abbeville County, 0.69 mi S of Calhoun Falls
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 34.090, -82.600

Multiple trees were blown down in the Calhoun Falls area.

Thunderstorm Wind, Chester

When: June 15, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Chester County, 2.36 mi NNW of Leeds
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.660, -81.400

Numerous large tree limbs were blown down in the Leeds area.

Hail, Greenwood

When: June 15, 7:05 PM EST
Where: Greenwood County, 2.15 mi NNW of Coronaco
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.300, -82.110

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenwood

When: June 15, 7:05 PM EST
Where: Greenwood County, 2.15 mi NNW of Coronaco
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 34.300, -82.110

Several large tree limbs were blown down about 6 miles east of Cokesbury.

Hail, Greenwood

When: June 15, 7:19 PM EST
Where: Greenwood County, 1.34 mi ENE of Greenwood
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.190, -82.150

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Carolina in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in South Carolina, June 2011

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: 326028, 326031, 326033, 326039, 326069, 326046, 326048, 326070, 326071, 326072, 326073, 326074, 326076, 326079, 326087, 326092, 326094, 326097, 326098, 326102, 326103.