A stationary cluster of thunderstorms dropped heavy rain over central Oconee County through much of the morning hours. The heavy rain triggered urban and stream flooding in this area.
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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.
A stationary cluster of thunderstorms dropped heavy rain over central Oconee County through much of the morning hours. The heavy rain triggered urban and stream flooding in this area.
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 30, 5:58 AM EST, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
658 AM EDT FRI AUG 30 2013
.SYNOPSIS...
WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA TODAY WITH A MOIST
EASTERLY FLOW. THE HIGH SLOWLY SLIDES OFF SHORE THROUGH THE WEEKEND
WITH A SOUTHERLY FLOW DEVELOPING. A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE
NORTHWEST ON MONDAY AND CROSSES THE AREA TUESDAY. DRY HIGH PRESSURE
RETURNS ON WEDNESDAY.
&&
.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
630 AM UPDATE...REGARDING PRECIP IN THE SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY...THE
CURRENT TRENDS SUGGEST THE ACTIVITY WILL DIMINISH AS INSTABILITY
BOTTOMS OUT AT DIURNAL MINIMUM. HOWEVER RAP CAPE TRENDS BEGIN
RAMPING BACK UP OVER THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS. LAPSE RATES AND PROG
SOUNDINGS STILL LOOK UNIMPRESSIVE TODAY AWAY FROM THE BLUE
RIDGE...BUT THESE CELLS ARE IN AN AREA FAVORED BY THE OVERNIGHT NAM
RUNS AS WELL AS THE RAP SO I HAVE MADE A GRADUAL TRANSITION OF POPS
FROM THE WRN UPSTATE UP TO THE MTNS.
AS OF 3 AM FRIDAY...SFC HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE MID ATLANTIC REGION
WILL MAINTAIN LIGHT EASTERLY FLOW IN LOW LEVELS THRU TODAY. POOR LLVL
LAPSE RATES WILL LIMIT DIURNALLY DRIVEN CONVECTION THROUGHOUT THE
REGION TODAY...BUT THE UPSLOPE FLOW MAY PROVIDE ENOUGH LIFT TO KICK
OFF A FEW CELLS IN THE MORE FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT NEAR THE BLUE
RIDGE...WHERE LLVL MOISTURE IS A BIT BETTER AND INSTABILITY
CORRESPONDINGLY GREATER.
UPPER PATTERN THRU THE PERIOD WILL BE DOMINATED BY ANTICYCLONE OVER
THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES...BUT AS A SHORTWAVE ROUNDS IT AND MOVES ACROSS
THE ERN GREAT LAKES HEIGHTS WILL FALL SLIGHTLY AND THE LOW TO
MIDLEVEL FLOW WILL BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY BY TONIGHT. THAT FLOW
CONTINUES TO PROVIDE LIFT BUT IS NOT IMPRESSIVE. MOISTURE REMAINS
CONCENTRATED IN THE LOW LEVELS TONIGHT...AND PROG SOUNDINGS SUGGEST
CIN WILL BE GREAT ENOUGH TO ALLOW CONVECTION TO GRADUALLY WANE OVER
THE EVENING...LEAVING THE CWFA DRY FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE NIGHT.
&&
.SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
AS OF 225 AM FRI...THE CWFA WILL REMAIN IN A WEAKNESS BETWEEN THE
RIDGING OVER THE CENTRAL CONUS AND THE ATLANTIC. THIS ALLOWS WEAK
SHORT WAVES MOVING THRU THE WESTERLIES TO DIG A SHALLOW TROF OVER
THE ERN CONUS EARLY IN THE PERIOD AND A STRONGER TROF BY MONDAY AS
AN UPPER LOW MOVES INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION. WEAK S TO SWLY LOW
LEVEL FLOW KEEPS COPIOUS MOISTURE OVER THE AREA WITH PW VALUES AS
HIGH AS 2 INCHES. THIS COMBINED WITH MODERATE INSTABILITY WILL LEAD
TO DIURNAL CONVECTION BOTH SAT AND SUN AFTERNOONS. COVERAGE BOTH
DAYS WILL FAVOR THE MTNS WITH LOWER...BUT STILL SCT...CHC OVER THE
PIEDMONT. HIGHS WILL BE NEARLY STEADY NEAR NORMAL BOTH DAYS WITH
LOWS NEARLY STEADY ABOUT 5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.
A WEAK FRONT MOVES IN WITH THE STRONGER TROF ON MON. EVEN WITH THE
FRONT AND TROF...CONVECTIVE COVERAGE WILL FAVOR THE MTNS AND TAPER
OFF TO THE PIEDMONT. HIGHS WILL BE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL.
WITH COPIOUS MOISTURE AND SLOW MOVING STORMS...HEAVY RAINFALL IS
POSSIBLE...POTENTIALLY LEADING TO ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING EACH DAY.
&&
.LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/...
AS OF 310 AM FRI...AN UPPER TROF STARTS OUT OVER THE ERN CONUS ON
TUE THEN SLIDES OFF SHORE WED. THE CWFA REMAINS IN LIGHT NWLY FLOW
THRU THE END OF THE PERIOD WITH LITTLE IN THE WAY OF SHORT WAVE
ACTIVITY DROPPING THRU THE FLOW. AT THE SFC...A COLD FRONT STARTS
OUT OVER THE AREA TUE THEN SLIDES SOUTH AND EAST OF THE AREA WED AS
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM THE NW THU. ALL THIS LEADS TO DIURNAL
SCT CONVECTION TUE. THERE IS SOME INDICATION THAT MOISTURE COULD
LINGER OVER THE SAV RIVER VALLEY OR SWRN NC MTNS ON WED WITH DRIER
AIR MOVING IN ELSEWHERE. HOWEVER...HAVE KEPT FCST DRY FOR NOW. DRY
FCST CONTINUES THU. TEMPERATURES FALL BELOW NORMAL WITH COOLER HIGH
PRESSURE MOVING IN.
&&
.AVIATION /12Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
AT KCLT...SOME UNCERTAINTY AS TO WHETHER LOW MVFR STRATOCU WILL
REACH THE FIELD IN EASTERLY FLOW INTO THE PIEDMONT EARLY THIS
MORNING. WILL MAINTAIN SCT010 FOR FIRST HOUR. OTHERWISE VFR CUMULUS
WILL BE THE DOMINANT CLOUDS BY MID MORNING. LIGHT ENE WINDS SHOULD
VEER TO SE BY AFTN PER CONSENSUS OF LATEST GUIDANCE. THE SELY FLOW
WITH ATLANTIC FETCH MAY CAUSE LOW STRATUS TO MOVE IN TONIGHT SIMILAR
TO WHAT IS HAPPENING THIS MORNING. GUIDANCE HAS HANDLED THIS
MORNING/S CIGS POORLY SO WILL KEEP TONIGHT VFR FOR NOW.
ELSEWHERE...PATCHY STRATOCU WILL PLAGUE THE TAF SITES EARLY THIS
MORNING. THE CLOUDS ARE MOSTLY LOW VFR TO MVFR BUT OBS SUGGEST SOME
BASES MAY BE AT IFR LEVEL. SHRA IN THE SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY WILL
CAUSE EVEN MORE RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS EARLY TODAY AS WELL. AWAY
FROM PRECIP CIGS SHOULD EASILY BE ABLE TO MIX UP TO VFR BY MID
MORNING. ISOLD TO WIDELY SCT CONVECTION MAY DEVELOP BY MIDDAY NEAR
THE BLUE RIDGE BUT CHCS TOO LOW FOR A TAF MENTION ATTM. LIGHT NE TO
ENE WINDS WILL VEER TO GENERALLY SE BY AFTERNOON AND REMAIN THERE
INTO THE EVENING. THE SE WINDS WILL BRING IN ATLANTIC MOISTURE AND
MAY ALLOW CIGS TO LOWER ONCE AGAIN TONIGHT...WITH GUIDANCE ALSO
SUPPORTING MVFR FOG ACRS MUCH OF THE AREA.
OUTLOOK...DIURNALLY DRIVEN ISOLD TO SCT CONVECTION EXPECTED EACH DAY
THRU THE WEEKEND. DAYBREAK FOG WILL BE MOST LIKELY IN MOUNTAIN
VALLEYS AND WHERE RAIN FELL THE DAY BEFORE.
CONFIDENCE TABLE...
11-17Z 17-23Z 23-05Z 05-11Z
KCLT HIGH 100% HIGH 100% HIGH 100% HIGH 97%
KGSP HIGH 84% HIGH 100% HIGH 100% HIGH 94%
KAVL HIGH 90% HIGH 98% HIGH 100% HIGH 86%
KHKY HIGH 85% HIGH 100% HIGH 100% HIGH 100%
KGMU HIGH 81% HIGH 100% HIGH 100% HIGH 100%
KAND HIGH 87% HIGH 100% HIGH 100% HIGH 90%
THE PERCENTAGE REFLECTS THE NUMBER OF GUIDANCE MEMBERS AGREEING
WITH THE SCHEDULED TAF ISSUANCE FLIGHT RULE CATEGORY. COMPLETE
HOURLY EXPERIMENTAL AVIATION FORECAST CONSISTENCY TABLES AND ENSEMBLE
FORECASTS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING LINK: (MUST BE LOWER CASE)
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GSP/AVIATION_TABLES
&&
.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.
&&
SYNOPSIS...RWH
NEAR TERM...WIMBERLEY
SHORT TERM...RWH
LONG TERM...RWH
AVIATION...WIMBERLEYHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 430 AM EDT FRI AUG 30 2013 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065- 068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-310830- 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- 430 AM EDT FRI AUG 30 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA INTO THE EVENING. DUE TO THE SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS...THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIALLY LEADING TO ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING. THE MAIN THREAT AREA WILL BE ALONG AND NEAR THE BLUE RIDGE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1040 AM EDT FRI AUG 30 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1035 AM HEAVY RAIN 2 SSE WALHALLA 34.75N 83.05W
08/30/2013 E0.00 INCH OCONEE SC COUNTY OFFICIAL
MULTIPLE TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN DUE TO HEAVY RAIN.
SEVERAL TREE FIRES HAVE RESULTED FROM THE CONTACT WITH
POWERLINES.
&&
NEDThe Greer radar (KGSP), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:05 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several roads were flooded across central Oconee County from Walhalla to Seneca. Some roads that were closed included Collins Road, E South Boundary Road, Old Walhalla Road, Wells Highway, Highway 123, Alexander Road and Crooked Creek Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, August 2013
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: 473567.