An isolated severe thunderstorm produced wind damage in the Wilson area of Clarendon County. Many trees were down, a church steeple was blown off and shingles were torn off several roofs.
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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 CAE wrote it up.
An isolated severe thunderstorm produced wind damage in the Wilson area of Clarendon County. Many trees were down, a church steeple was blown off and shingles were torn off several roofs.
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 May 20, 1:34 PM EST, 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 234 PM EDT MON MAY 20 2013 .SYNOPSIS... PERSISTENT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION THROUGH TUESDAY CONTINUING THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. A STRONGER UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL CROSS THE CENTRAL US DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK AND INTO THE EASTERN US ON FRIDAY RESULTING IN ADDITIONAL CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. DRIER WEATHER IS EXPECTED BY NEXT WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... CUMULUS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA WITH RADAR RETURNS INDICATING SHOWERS ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN MIDLANDS. WITH THE EASTERN MIDLANDS BEING PARTLY SUNNY AND TEMPERATURES RISING INTO THE LOWER 80S EXPECT CONVECTION TO INCREASE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS WITH SOME CELLS HAVING HEAVY RAIN WITH THEM. POTENTIAL EXITS FOR RAIN RATES OR 1 INCH PER HOUR OR GREATER WHICH COULD RESULT IN SOME STANDING WATER IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. WITH SUNSET AND LOSS OF HEATING CONVECTION WILL BEGIN DIMINISHING AND AS THE UPPER TROUGH AXIS PUSHES TO THE COAST TOWARD DAYBREAK ANY REMAINING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD CEASE. FOG IS ALSO EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TOWARD DAYBREAK AS PLENTY OF MOISTURE WILL BE TRAPPED UNDER THE DEVELOPING INVERSION AND WINDS WILL BE LIGHT. WITH THE CLOUDS OVER THE AREA OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE MIDDLE 60S. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... THE CURRENT WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH THAT HAS PERSISTED ACROSS THE REGION IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST INTO THURSDAY. THEN A STRONGER/DEEPER TROUGH WILL PUSH IN FROM THE WEST THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. UNTIL THE MAIN TROUGH PASSES...EXPECT TYPICAL AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AND LAST INTO THE EVENING HOURS BEFORE DISSIPATING. RAIN CHANCES WILL BE MOSTLY DEPENDENT UPON THE STRENGTH AND MOVEMENT OF THE SEA-BREEZE...ALONG WITH THE POSITION OF THE UPPER TROUGH. FOR NOW HAVE GENERALLY GOING WITH CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING HOURS. AS FOR TEMPS...WITH A LITTLE MORE SUNSHINE...EXPECTING HIGHS TO REACH THE MID 80S. OVERNIGHT LOWS IN THE 60S. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... THE MAIN UPPER TROUGH WILL BE SWINGING EAST OF THE REGION BY FRIDAY...WHILE AT THE SURFACE...DRIER HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN BUILDING BACK INTO THE REGION FROM THE NORTH. UPPER FLOW WILL BE OUT OF THE NORTHWEST. SURFACE FLOW ALSO OUT OF THE NORTH. THIS LEADS TO A DRY WEATHER PATTERN AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. HIGHS STILL GENERALLY IN THE MID 80S. LOWS WILL BE SLIGHTLY COOLER WITH READINGS IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S. && .AVIATION /17Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... VARIABLE CONDITIONS THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH CONTINUES TO CROSS THE REGION CREATING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. CURRENT SATELLITE AND RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOPING OVER THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN MIDLANDS. EXPECT POTENTIAL IMPACTS AT CAE/CUB/OGB OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS WITH CHANCE OF CONVECTION TOO LOW TO MENTION AT AGS/DNL. CONVECTION WILL SLOWLY DIMINISH THIS EVENING WITH ACTIVITY CEASING OVERNIGHT AS THE TROUGH MOVES TOWARD THE COAST. NEXT CONCERN WILL BE FOG DEVELOPMENT OVERNIGHT. WITH PLENTY OF MOISTURE TRAPPED BELOW A DEVELOPING INVERSION AND LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS ALOFT THE FOG THREAT REMAINS ELEVATED. MODELS INDICATE IFR/LIFR CONDITIONS BY DAYBREAK...HOWEVER MUCH WILL DEPEND ON RAINFALL THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. HAVE REMAINED WITH MVFR FOG AT ALL TAF SITES AND WILL ADJUST ACCORDINGLY AS CONFIDENCE IMPROVES. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...POSSIBLE THROUGH FRIDAY. LATE NIGHT/EARLY MORNING FOG/STRATUS ALSO POSSIBLE. && .CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. GA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 534 AM EDT MON MAY 20 2013 GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-210945- LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD- MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON- RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON- BAMBERG- 534 AM EDT MON MAY 20 2013 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...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:45 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
EM reported a microburst took down trees and blew a steeple off a church. Underpinning was also torn off a mobile home and several framed homes and the church had shingles blown off.
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, May 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: 441211.