A few isolated thunderstorms produced some strong winds taking down trees and powerlines.
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 isolated thunderstorms produced some strong winds taking down trees and powerlines.
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 18, 12:28 PM EST, 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 128 PM EDT MON AUG 18 2014 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER TROUGH AND INCREASING MOISTURE WILL BRING THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TUESDAY. SOME DRIER AIR AND A BUILDING UPPER RIDGE JUST TO OUR WEST WILL REDUCE AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...AND LEAD TO INCREASING HIGH TEMPERATURES. AN APPROACHING BACKDOOR FRONT AND INCREASING MOISTURE WILL LEAD TO GREATER THUNDERSTORM CHANCES OVER THE WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... THIS AFTERNOON...MOISTURE HAS INCREASED AHEAD OF THE MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH. THIS MOISTURE PLUS HEATING AND CONVERGENCE INTO THE LEE-SIDE TROUGH SHOULD HELP SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS. THE HIGH- RESOLUTION MODELS DISPLAY SCATTERED COVERAGE AND THIS MAY BE CORRECT BECAUSE THE SURFACE FEATURE IS WEAK AND THE STRONGER UPPER-LEVEL LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS PASSING NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. EARLY AFTERNOON SURFACE-BASED LI/S WERE -7 TO -8. THE STRONG INSTABILITY SUPPORTS A POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGING WIND WITH A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS. EXPECT AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL PEAK IN THE MIDDLE 90S. TONIGHT...MOST OF THE LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH A MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH SHOULD BE NORTHEAST OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING. THE NAM INDICATES THE NEXT TROUGH NEARING THE AREA DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. THE MODELS MAINTAIN WEAK SURFACE TROUGHING. THE GUIDANCE CONSENSUS SUPPORTS CHANCE POPS WITH THE GREATER CHANCE IN THE EVENING CLOSER TO THE TIME OF MAXIMUM HEATING. SOME CLOUDINESS AND MIXING SHOULD HELP HOLD UP TEMPERATURES. THE GUIDANCE WAS CLOSE WITH LOWS MAINLY IN THE MIDDLE 70S. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... ANOTHER UPPER SHORT WAVE WILL TRACK EAST ACROSS OUR FA TUESDAY...WITH CONTINUED INDICATIONS OF A SUFFICIENTLY MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE TO SUPPORT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. UPPER RIDGE WILL BUILD JUST TO OUR WEST STARTING WED. WARMING 850MB TEMPERATURES AND A LOW LEVEL DOWNSLOPE FLOW WILL RESULT IN MAX TEMPERATURES PUSHING 100 DEGREES WED/THU. LATEST GUIDANCE INDICATES DEWPOINTS MIXING DOWN INTO THE MID TO UPPER 60S N FA TO NEAR 70 TO THE LOWER 70S SE FA WED/THU AFTN...WHICH KEEPS MAX HEAT INDEX VALUES JUST BELOW OUR HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA OF 110. WITH A DRY BULB TEMP OF 100...A DEWPOINT OF 72 IS NEEDED TO REACH A HEAT INDEX OF 110. THIS WILL HAVE TO BE MONITORED. SOME DRIER AIR WILL ENTER OUR FA WEDNESDAY. EXPECT LOWER PRECIPITATION CHANCES ON WED/THU GIVEN THE DRIER AIR AND BUILDING RIDGE ALOFT. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... UPPER RIDGE TO OUR WEST WITH UPPER TROUGH AND CLOSED LOW TO OUR NE...PROVIDING A NW FLOW ALOFT FOR OUR FA. SOME TIMING UNCERTAINTIES...BUT MODELS SUGGEST A BACK DOOR FRONT WILL MOVE DOWN THE EAST COAST...REACHING OUR FA SOME TIME THIS WEEKEND. THIS WOULD INCREASE POPS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY...AND LEAD TO COOLER TEMPS NORTH OF IT. WILL MAINTAIN TREND IN THE ONGOING FORECAST OF POPS TRENDING HIGHER AND TEMPS TRENDING LOWER DURING THAT TIME. && .AVIATION /18Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... EXPECT MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS DURING THE TAF PERIOD. MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH A MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH... HEATING...AND CONVERGENCE INTO A LEE-SIDE SURFACE TROUGH SHOULD HELP SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. MUCH OF THE LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER-LEVEL FEATURE IS PASSING NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE SURFACE TROUGH IS WEAK. THEREFORE...EXPECT LIMITED THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE. THE HIGH- RESOLUTION MODELS DISPLAY SCATTERED COVERAGE. EARLY AFTERNOON SURFACE- BASED LI/S WERE -7 TO -8. THE STRONG INSTABILITY SUPPORTS STRONG WINDS NEAR ANY THUNDERSTORMS. THERE MAY BE STRATUS AND FOG DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. HOWEVER...HIGHER CLOUDINESS SHOULD LIMIT NET RADIATIONAL COOLING AND EXPECT SOME MIXING WILL CONTINUE. MOST OF THE NAM AND GFS MOS MAINTAINED VFR CONDITIONS AND THE SREF PROBABILITIES OF RESTRICTIVE CEILINGS OR FOG WERE LESS THAN 20 PERCENT. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...MVFR OR IFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE IN LATE NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING FOG THROUGH THE PERIOD. SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO BRING RESTRICTIONS. && .CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. GA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 529 AM EDT MON AUG 18 2014 GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-190930- LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD- MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON- RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON- BAMBERG- 529 AM EDT MON AUG 18 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA AND CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MODERATE INSTABILITY AND ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL PROVIDE THE POSSIBILITY FOR A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS THAT COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. .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.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 137 PM EDT MON AUG 18 2014 SCZ026-027-030-181830- AIKEN-LEXINGTON-SALUDA- 137 PM EDT MON AUG 18 2014 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF LEXINGTON...SALUDA AND AIKEN COUNTIES THROUGH 230 PM EDT... AT 135 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM...NEAR BATESBURG-LEESVILLE. MOVEMENT WAS EAST NEAR 20 MPH...AND WILL AFFECT THE AREA ALONG THE LEXINGTON AND AIKEN COUNTY LINE NEAR BATESBURG-LEESVILLE. THE STORM WILL LIKELY CONTAIN FREQUENT LIGHTNING...WIND GUSTS AROUND 40 MPH...BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS. && LAT...LON 3398 8135 3376 8138 3382 8165 3398 8162 TIME...MOT...LOC 1735Z 285DEG 18KT 3390 8153
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:49 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
SC DOT reported trees down at Brodie Road and South Lee Street, and at Hwy 178 and SC 245 just south of Batesburg-Leesville. Some trees were also on powerlines.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, August 2014
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: 528733.