A few strong to severe storms developed during the late afternoon and evening along intersecting boundaries just behind a back door cold front.
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.
A few strong to severe storms developed during the late afternoon and evening along intersecting boundaries just behind a back door cold front.
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 Mar 19, 1:02 PM EST, 4 hours 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 202 PM EDT SAT MAR 19 2011 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION FROM THE NORTHEAST AND MID ATLANTIC REGION TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. THIS WILL RESULT IN COOLER TEMPERATURES AND SOME CLOUDINESS THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... WEAK COLD FRONT CURRENTLY MOVING SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE SC CENTRAL MIDLANDS. MAINLY JUST A FEW CLOUDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT...AND NOT MANY MORE CLOUDS BEHIND THE FRONT. SFC HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE GREAT LAKES...WHICH IS NOT A PRIME LOCATION FOR COLD-AIR DAMMING TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA. AS A RESULT...EXPECT MAINLY SUNNY SKIES TO CONTINUE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON. BOTH NAM AND GFS BUFKIT TIME SECTIONS INDICATING INCREASING MOISTURE ESPECIALLY IN THE MID LEVELS OVERNIGHT AS LOW-LEVEL FLOW IS TAPPED FROM THE ATLANTIC. NO PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED. SUNDAY MORNING FORECAST LOWS CLOSE TO MODEL CONSENSUS. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... LATEST GUIDANCE IS BACKING OFF ANY SIGNIFICANT COLD AIR DAMMING WEDGE SUNDAY WITH ONLY SHALLOW MOISTURE MAINLY IN THE MID LEVELS AND LITTLE ISENTROPIC LIFT. NORTHWEST UPPER LEVEL FLOW NOT FAVORABLE EITHER. EXPECT CONSIDERABLE CLOUDS THOUGH AND TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLER THAN THE LAST FEW DAYS...BUT STAYED CLOSE TO GUIDANCE MAX TEMPERATURES. MODELS INCREASE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY AS WEAK ISENTROPIC LIFT DEVELOPS IN RESPONSE TO SHORT WAVE TROUGH MOVING ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA...EXPECT DEEPER MOISTURE WELL TO THE NORTH AND WEST. SO POPS SHOULD BE LOW THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...DRIZZLE AT THIS TIME APPEARS UNLIKELY EXPECT FOR A BRIEF PERIOD MONDAY MORNING. WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW INCREASING DURING THE DAY MONDAY TEMPERATURES SHOULD RISE INTO THE 70S...AND PREFER MOS GUIDANCE/SREF. CLEARING MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTS OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST TUESDAY WITH AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN STATES. FAIR WEATHER IS EXPECTED WITH TEMPS WARMING BACK ABOVE NORMAL UNDER SOUTHWEST SURFACE WINDS. ANOTHER WEAK COLD FRONT APPROACHES WEDNESDAY NIGHT/THURSDAY BRINGING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS TO THE FORECAST AREA. THERE IS UNCERTAINTY IN GFS ENSEMBLE POP WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY BUT PREFER LOWER POPS DUE TO LACK OF SYNOPTIC FORCING. TEMPERATURES ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH MID WEEK THEN BELOW NORMAL BY THE WEEKEND AS BROAD UPPER TROUGH SETTLES OVER THE EASTERN STATES AND SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS SOUTHEAST FROM THE UPPER MIDWEST. && .AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... COLD FRONT CURRENTLY MOVING SOUTHWARDS THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON WILL STALL OVER THE FL PANHANDLE LATER TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS FROM THE NORTH. SOME CU THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF THE FRONT WITH SOME CU/STRATOCU BEHIND THE FRONT. BOTH NAM AND GFS BUFKIT TIME SECTIONS INDICATING SOME INCREASED MOISTURE OVERNIGHT ESPECIALLY AFTER 06Z SUNDAY. NOCTURNAL LOW-LEVEL JET AROUND 25 KTS WILL HINDER EARLY MORNING FOG DEVELOPMENT BUT ALLOW FOR SOME STRATUS TO DEVELOP. AFTER 12Z MAINLY SCT-BKN MID-LEVEL CLOUDS UNTIL THE END OF THE TAF PERIOD. GENERALLY VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...MVFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE WEDGES IN FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. && .CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. GA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 507 AM EDT SAT MAR 19 2011 GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-200915- LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD- MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON- RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON- BAMBERG- 507 AM EDT SAT MAR 19 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...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 556 PM EDT SAT MAR 19 2011 SCZ020-021-026-192230- FAIRFIELD-NEWBERRY-SALUDA- 556 PM EDT SAT MAR 19 2011 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT FAIRFIELD......NEWBERRY... AND SALUDA COUNTIES... AT 543 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN LAURENS COUNTY MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. THIS ACTIVITY MAY MOVE INTO FAIRFIELD...NEWBERRY AND SALUDA COUNTIES BETWEEN 6 AND 615 PM. SMALL HAIL...AND WINDS 30 TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. TTH
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:43 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
County Sheriff Dispatch reported numerous trees down across the county.
County Sheriff Dispatch reported a tree down on a car and power lines down.
The public reported a funnel cloud near the town of Saluda.
Hail fell for 20 to 25 minutes. The size ranged from 0.75 to 1.00 inches. The event occurred 2 miles west of the town of Saluda on Highway 178.
NWS Cooperative Observer reported a panel on an equipment building ripped off. Also, several large limbs down on the property.
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, March 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: 278881, 278882, 278884, 278880, 278883.