Scattered severe thunderstorms produced some large hail and damaging winds around the Midlands of SC.
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.
Scattered severe thunderstorms produced some large hail and damaging winds around the Midlands of SC.
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 1, 12:35 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 135 AM EDT WED AUG 1 2012 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL COVER THE REGION FOR MOST OF THE WEEK. A SERIES OF WEAK UPPER DISTURBANCES ALONG WITH SUFFICIENT MOISTURE WILL PROMOTE SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM THIS MORNING/... MAIN UPPER TROUGH HAS MOVED TO THE EAST AND MUCH OF THE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST. A WEAK SHORT WAVE IS DROPPING SOUTHWARD IN THE REAR PORTION OF THE UPPER TROUGH AND MAY SPREAD A FEW MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. IDENTIFIED A COUPLE OF AREAS WITH HIGHER PRECIP COVERAGE, HAVE AN 80 PERCENT POP IN THE EAST FOR SUMTER...CLARENDON AND LEE COUNTIES AND HAVE A 60 PERCENT POP ORANGEBURG...BARNWELL AND BAMBERG COUNTIES NEXT FEW HOURS. THE TREND DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT WILL BE DECREASING CHANCES FOR RAIN. HEAVY RAIN THREAT APPEARS TO HAVE DIMINISHED AS JUST WEAK DYNAMICS WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM THIS MORNING THROUGH 6 PM THURSDAY/... THE MODELS SHOWED LESS MOISTURE WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WITH DRYING BEHIND A LEAD MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH. SOME LINGERING SURFACE TROUGHING AND SERIES OF DIFFICULT TO TIME SHORTWAVE TROUGHS IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW MAY HELP SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY NEAR THE TIME OF MAXIMUM HEATING. THE NAM AND GFS MOS INDICATED POPS 20 PERCENT OR LESS. FORECASTED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS. THE TEMPERATURE GUIDANCE WAS CONSISTENT. THURSDAY SHOULD BE A LITTLE WARMER AS THE UPPER RIDGE NUDGES A LITTLE FARTHER EASTWARD. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... THE GFS AND ECMWF SHOW THE UPPER TROUGH WEAKENING DURING THE EXTENDED PERIOD. SURFACE RIDGING APPEARS TO CONTINUE TO THE SOUTH WITH LEE-SIDE TROUGHING IN THE FORECAST AREA. THIS PATTERN SUPPORTS MAINLY SCATTERED DIURNAL THUNDERSTORMS WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THE GFS ENSEMBLE MEANS SUPPORT CHANCE OR SLIGHT CHANCE POPS WITH LOWS IN THE LOWER 70S AND HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 90S. && .AVIATION /06Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... RADAR INDICATES SOME SHOWERS AND AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM OVER THE EASTERN FORECAST AREA (FA) PUSHING EAST...AND SOME PATCHY LIGHT RAIN ACROSS THE SOUTHERN FA PUSHING EAST TOWARDS OGB. EARLIER CONVECTION TO OUR NW HAS DISSIPATED. SATELLITE INDICATES SIGNIFICANT MID TO UPPER LEVEL RESIDUAL CLOUD COVER OVER THE REGION...THOUGH TIME LAPSE SUGGESTS AT LEAST PARTIAL CLEARING TOWARDS DAYBREAK. LATEST ARRAY OF GUIDANCE SUGGESTS POTENTIAL FOR IFR TO LIFR FOG AND/OR STRATUS DEVELOPING AT THE TERMINALS. UPPER SHORT WAVE TRACKING SE ACROSS THE REGION THIS MORNING WILL PUSH TOWARDS THE COAST BY WED AFTERNOON. MODEL SOLUTIONS POINT TO BEST TSRA COVERAGE WED AFTN MAINLY TO THE E/SE OF OUR TERMINALS. COVERAGE NOT SUFFICIENT TO INCLUDE MENTION IN TAFS AT THIS TIME. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...LATE NIGHT/EARLY MORNING FOG/STRATUS...AND SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS... THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. GA...NONE. && 07
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 1012 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012 GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-011200- LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD- MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON- RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON- BAMBERG- 1012 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA AND CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH DAY. A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTAIN DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:43 UTC.
8 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The Item reported that the Shiloh United Methodist Church, built in 1831, was destroyed by fire. Damage estimates were at 1.3 million dollars.
Public reported quarter size hail on Brindleridge Road.
NWS employee reported hail the size of quarters falling at his residence.
Sheriff reported trees down near the intersection of Ebenezer and Healing Springs Road.
Sheriff reported a few trees down near Hwy 37 northeast of Barnwell.
Sheriff rerported quarter size hail off of Old State Road.
DOT reported a tree down at Dantzler and Cleveland Streets in Elloree.
DOT reported trees down at Tee Vee and Racetrack Roads northeast of Elloree.
Park Service reported trees down in the backyard of the Ranger Home Residence.
Park Ranger reported large branches down in Santee State Park.
Youngs Food Store on Hwy 378 east of Sumter reported 1.5 inch hail.
Sheriff reported trees down on Pudding Swamp Road and Woodsbay Road.
DHEC employee reported quarter size hail at Farrow and Hardscrabble Roads.
Public reported quarter size hail in Dentsville.
Highway Patrol reported trees down on Brickyard Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, August 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: 390723, 388121, 388122, 388128, 388129, 388123, 388130, 388131, 388132, 388134, 388124, 388135, 388126, 388127, 388136.