Isolated to scattered thunderstorms developed across portions of southeast Georgia ahead of the afternoon sea breeze.
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 CHS wrote it up.
Isolated to scattered thunderstorms developed across portions of southeast Georgia ahead of the afternoon sea breeze.
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 May 31, 9:36 AM EST, 3 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 1036 AM EDT THU MAY 31 2012 .SYNOPSIS... WEAK ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE WILL GIVE WAY TO A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE AREA FRIDAY NIGHT...FOLLOWED BY HIGH PRESSURE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL GRADUALLY ADVANCE INTO THE SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK...AND HIGH PRESSURE COULD BUILD INTO THE REGION AGAIN AROUND MIDWEEK. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... LATE THIS MORNING...SHOWER ACTIVITY FROM EARLIER THIS MORNING HAS DIMINISHED AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES ARE IN PLACE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. TODAY...THE REGION WILL BE CAUGHT IN THE BROAD SW FLOW AHEAD OF AN ORGANIZING TROF BACK TO THE WEST. AT THE SURFACE...S TO SE FLOW WILL DOMINATE THE AREA...AND WITH EXCELLENT SURFACE HEATING INLAND SHOULD SET THE STAGE FOR A WELL DEVELOPED SEA BREEZE THIS AFTERNOON. AS FAR AS CONVECTIVE CHANCES ARE CONCERNED...THE THINKING CONTINUES TO FAVOR SE GA FOR ISOLATED SHOWERS/STORMS. THIS AREA HAS SOMEWHAT BETTER DEEP LAYER MOISTURE AND MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE THE POTENTIAL FOR MORE SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY. IN FACT...SOUNDINGS FOR SOUTHERN SC SHOW MUCH WARMER MID LEVELS AND ONLY LOW END CAPE VALUES AT BEST. ISOLATED SHOWERS/STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO START DEVELOPING ACROSS SE GA IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON AND WILL BE AIDED BY SPEED CONVERGENCE ALONG THE SEA BREEZE. FLOW IN THE 0-6 KM LAYER IS QUITE WEAK AND ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL EXHIBIT SLOW MOTION. THE OVERALL THREAT OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS IS LOW...BUT THERE IS A GOOD AMOUNT OF DRY AIR SUPPORTING DCAPE VALUES UPWARDS OF 1000 J/KG. SO...ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP COULD PRODUCE SOME GUSTY WINDS. LOW LEVEL THICKNESSES ARE CONSIDERABLY HIGHER THAN WEDNESDAY...AND SUPPORTIVE OF HIGHS IN THE LOW TO MID 90S. THE PROGRESSIVE SEA BREEZE WITHIN THE BACKGROUND SOUTHERLY FLOW SHOULD PREVENT AREAS CLOSER TO THE COAST FROM FULLY REALIZING THE THICKNESS POTENTIAL...BUT STILL EXPECT AREA SUCH AS CHARLESTON AND SAVANNAH TO WARM INTO THE LOW 90S BEFORE COOLING BEHIND THE SEA BREEZE. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY/... TONIGHT...ANY ISOLATED EVENING CONVECTION IN THE SOUTHWEST ZONES WILL LIKELY DISSIPATE AS DIURNAL HEATING/INSTABILITY WANES AFTER SUNSET. A PROMINENT SHORTWAVE TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL BE STEADILY APPROACHING FROM THE WEST THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING...HOWEVER BEST FORCING AND DEEP MOISTURE WILL STILL BE WELL OUTSIDE OF THE FORECAST AREA BY DAYBREAK FRIDAY. FORECAST MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BECOMING TRAPPED BENEATH THE INVERSION LATE TONIGHT...POSSIBLY SUPPORTING STRATUS AND LIGHT FOG DEVELOPMENT. LOW TEMPERATURES WILL AGAIN BE QUITE MILD...ONLY FALLING INTO THE UPPER 60S AND LOWER 70S. FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT...AN APPROACHING UPPER TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL SUPPORT SCATTERED TO BROKEN CONVECTION ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING. THERMODYNAMIC/ KINEMATIC PARAMETERS SUPPORT MULTICELL THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING EPISODES OF DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LARGE HAIL. ACCORDINGLY...AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 16 REMAIN IN A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THIS THREAT WITHIN THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK. POPS REMAIN UNCERTAIN. WHILE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME NUMEROUS...JUSTIFYING LIKELY OR HIGHER POPS...GUIDANCE HAS TRENDED TOWARD LOWER POPS...SUGGESTING THAT BEST COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN NORTH OF THE REGION. FOR NOW...CAPPED HIGHEST POPS IN THE 40-50 PERCENT RANGE FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY EVENING. SATURDAY...IN THE WAKE OF COLD FROPA A DRIER AIR MASS FEATURING DEWPOINTS IN THE MID 50S TO LOWER 60S WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION. SOME GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT SUFFICIENT MOISTURE WILL PERSIST TO SUPPORT ISOLATED SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS ESPECIALLY WHERE SEA BREEZE CONVERGENCE DEVELOPS NEAR THE COAST. THIS SCENARIO JUSTIFIES NON-ZERO POPS...BUT GIVEN THE INCREASINGLY DRY/CAPPED ENVIRONMENT HELD POPS BELOW 15 PERCENT WITH NO EXPLICIT MENTION OF PRECIPITATION. TEMPERATURES SHOULD TOP OUT IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S. SATURDAY NIGHT SHOULD FEATURE BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER TO MID 60S. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... THE UNSEASONABLY DRY AIR MASS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE SUNDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL RECOVER INTO THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S... BUT DEWPOINTS WILL REMAIN IN THE UPPER 50S/LOWER 60S. POPS ARE ESSENTIALLY ZERO SUNDAY. NEXT WEEK...A BLOCKING PATTERN WILL DEVELOP...ALLOWING A LONGWAVE UPPER TROUGH TO AMPLIFY OVER THE EAST. THIS TROUGH WILL GRADUALLY PUSH A SLOW-MOVING SURFACE COLD FRONT INTO THE SOUTHEAST DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEK. THUS...INTRODUCED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS DURING THE MONDAY AND TUESDAY TIME FRAME...AND HIGHER POPS COULD EVENTUALLY BE REQUIRED FOR A PORTION OF THAT TIME PERIOD. EVEN AS HIGH PRESSURE EXPANDS FROM THE NORTH AROUND MIDWEEK...STRONG DRYING IS NOT INDICATED...AND LOW CHANCE POPS ARE JUSTIFIED. OVERALL...THIS PATTERN WILL NOT FAVOR ANY HOT/HUMID WEATHER...AND TEMPERATURES SHOULD REMAIN CLOSE TO OR EVEN SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION /15Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... ODDS FAVOR VFR THROUGH MUCH OF THE 12Z TAF PERIOD. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP IN THE KSAV VICINITY THIS AFTERNOON...THUS INTRODUCED CBS AND VCTS DURING THE 17Z-21Z PERIOD. LATE TONIGHT...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE COULD SUPPORT GROUND FOG AND/OR STRATUS WITH DEGRADED FLIGHT CATEGORIES...BUT PROBABILITY/FORECAST CONFIDENCE REMAIN INSUFFICIENT FOR A PESSIMISTIC FORECAST. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION LATE FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT...LIKELY RESULTING IN BRIEF SUB-VFR FLIGHT CONDITIONS IN SHRA/TSRA. OTHERWISE...VFR. && .MARINE... TODAY...THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE RELATIVELY WEAK FOR THE START OF THE DAY...ALLOWING WIND FIELDS TO BE MOSTLY DRIVEN BY SEABREEZE DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON. TONIGHT...AS A STRONG COLD FRONT STEADILY PROGRESSES FROM THE WEST...SOUTH/SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE MARINE ZONES. DESPITE ANY WEAK SURGING AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING SYSTEM OVERNIGHT...WIND SPEEDS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO REMAIN 15 KT OR LESS...WITH SEAS NO MORE THAN 2 OR 3 FT. FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING...A TIGHT SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE AND AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT FROM THE WEST AND NW WITH SUPPORT S/SW WINDS IN THE 15-20 KT RANGE...CAUSING SEAS TO BUILD TO 3-5 FT. MARGINAL SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WINDS COULD DEVELOP FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY EVENING...BUT THE PROBABILITY REMAINS INSUFFICIENT TO JUSTIFY A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WITHIN THE EARLY THURSDAY MORNING FORECAST PACKAGE. MARINERS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG TO SEVERE T-STORMS IN ADVANCE OF THE COLD FRONT...ESPECIALLY LATE FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD FROM THE WEST AS THE COLD FRONT PULLS FAR AWAY TO THE EAST AND SE. A LIGHT OFFSHORE WIND REGIME WILL PREVAIL...WITH NO MORE THAN WEAK SEA BREEZE CIRCULATION DEVELOPING EACH AFTERNOON. MONDAY AND TUESDAY...A SLOW-MOVING COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTH. SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL PREVAIL. MONDAY...WINDS MAINLY 10 KT OR LESS WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY 1-2 FT SEAS. TUESDAY...WINDS SHOULD INCREASE AND SEAS WILL BUILD...INTRODUCING A LOW PROBABILITY FOR SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && NEAR TERM...BSH SHORT TERM... LONG TERM... AVIATION... MARINE...
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 353 AM EDT THU MAY 31 2012 AMZ350-352-354-374-GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141-SCZ040-042>045- 047>052-010800- 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- 353 AM EDT THU MAY 31 2012 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. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE REGION LATE FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...A FEW THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LARGE HAIL FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 135 PM EDT THU MAY 31 2012 GAZ101-116-118-SCZ047-048-051-311815- BEAUFORT-COASTAL JASPER-EFFINGHAM-INLAND BRYAN-INLAND CHATHAM-INLAND JASPER- 135 PM EDT THU MAY 31 2012 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF EFFINGHAM...BRYAN... JASPER...CHATHAM AND BEAUFORT COUNTIES THROUGH 215 PM EDT... AT 133 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM...NEAR BLOOMINGDALE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED INCLUDE... BLOOMINGDALE...GARDEN CITY...I-16/I-95 INTERCHANGE...MEINHARD... MELDRIM...MONTEITH...POOLER...PORT WENTWORTH...RINCON...SAVANNAH AIRPORT...STILLWELL...HARDEEVILLE AND PURYSBURGH... PREPARE NOW FOR THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS... GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH... PENNY SIZE HAIL... PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON TOLL FREE AT 1-888-383-2024 IF YOU OBSERVE SEVERE WEATHER SUCH AS HAIL...DOWNED TREES...LIMBS AND POWER LINES. REPORTS CAN ALSO BE SENT BY EMAIL TO CHS.SKYWARN@NOAA.GOV OR THROUGH TWITTER USING #WXREPORT. && LAT...LON 3241 8126 3228 8098 3205 8121 3214 8141 TIME...MOT...LOC 1735Z 213DEG 8KT 3216 8126 BSH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
154 PM EDT THU MAY 31 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0152 PM HAIL PORT WENTWORTH 32.15N 81.18W
05/31/2012 E0.50 INCH CHATHAM GA PUBLIC
MULTIPLE REPORTS OF HAIL SMALLER THAN DIMES
&&
EVENT NUMBER CHS1200272
FWAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
156 PM EDT THU MAY 31 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0151 PM TSTM WND GST SAVANNAH AIRPORT 32.14N 81.20W
05/31/2012 M51 MPH CHATHAM GA ASOS
MEASURED WIND GUST OF 44 KNOTS AT SAVANNAH
INTERNATIONAL
&&
EVENT NUMBER CHS1200273
FWAThe Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:58 UTC.
2 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The public reported quarter size hail at the intersection of Highway 30 and Highway 21 in Port Wentworth.
One tree down across the roadway at Wildwood Drive and Smith Avenue.
Quarter size hail fell on State Road 57 about one mile south of the Tibet Baptist Church.
Several trees down and blocking the road at State Road 57 about one mile south of the Tibet Baptist Church.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, May 2012
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: 384483, 384485, 384484, 384486.