An unstable airmass developed over southeast Georgia ahead of an approaching cold front. A series of upper level disturbances provided the primary forcing necessary for a line of thunderstorms to shift over the area with damaging winds.
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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 CHS wrote it up.
An unstable airmass developed over southeast Georgia ahead of an approaching cold front. A series of upper level disturbances provided the primary forcing necessary for a line of thunderstorms to shift over the area with damaging winds.
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 Aug 23, 11:46 AM EST, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 1246 PM EDT SUN AUG 23 2015 .SYNOPSIS... A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH TONIGHT. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST LATE MONDAY AND INTO TUESDAY...LIKELY PUSHING INTO THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA BY MID WEEK. A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ON THIS FRONT TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...THEN WEAKEN AND SHIFT SOUTHWARD FRIDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... CURRENT LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING FROM THE WEST HAS WEAKENED A LITTLE IN THE LAST HOUR OR SO AS IT HAS ENCOUNTERED A SLIGHTLY MORE STABLE AIR MASS. THERE IS A WEAK ATTEMPT AT A BOOKEND VORTEX IN WASHINGTON COUNTY RECENTLY...BUT IT JUST DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH TO HOLD TOGETHER. HOWEVER...THE AIR MASS IS MORE UNSTABLE OVER OUR CWA ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER...SO I EXPECT THE LINE TO HOLD TOGETHER AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. THEREFORE...I HAVE INCREASED POPS YET AGAIN...ESPECIALLY FOR AREAS WEST OF I95 IN GEORGIA. I HAVE ALSO MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE HOURLY TEMPS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE SIGNIFICANT COOLING EXPECTED FROM THE APPROACHING CONVECTION. THE PREMISE FOR A COUPLE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS REMAINS UNCHANGED. BASED ON THE HIGH PRECIPITABLE WATERS VALUES WHICH WOULD POTENTIALLY AID MICROBURSTS VIA PRECIP LOADING...SOME SYNOPTIC SUPPORT IN THE FORM OF A VORT LOBE...AND THE EXPECTED DEVELOPMENT OF A SEMI-ORGANIZED MULTICELL CLUSTER OR LINE...WE MAY HAVE A COUPLE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATER TODAY...WITH THE BEST CHANCES ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER. TONIGHT...THE BASE OF THE SHORT WAVE TROUGH APPROACHING WITH FAIRLY DEEP MOISTURE AROUND THE FORECAST REGION. WE CARRIED CHANCE POPS UNTIL LATER IN THE NIGHT WHEN SLIGHT CHANCE POPS WERE MAINTAINED. SOME AREAS MAY EVENTUALLY NEED A SLIGHT BUMP IN POPS ONCE BETTER TIMING TRENDS AND NOCTURNAL ELEVATED INSTABILITY TRENDS BECOME CLEARER. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... MONDAY...THINK THIS WILL BE THE DRIEST/LOWEST POP DAY OF THE PERIOD. THE AREA WILL BE BETWEEN A DEPARTING SHORT WAVE OVER THE ATLANTIC WITH SOME WEAK NVA WORKING IN FROM THE WEST...AND MUCH LOWER MEAN RH VALUES. THE NAM IS THE DRIEST BY FAR WITH MEAN RH VALUES OF BELOW 20%...WHILE THE GLOBAL MODELS ARE 40-50%. HAVE NUDGED POPS BACK DOWN FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST...BUT KEPT LOW END CHANCE POPS INLAND AREAS TO ACCOUNT FOR LATE DAY SEA BREEZE. HIGHS WILL CONTINUE SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL IN THE LOWER 90S. MONDAY NIGHT...EXPECT ANY CONVECTION TO DIE DOWN IN THE EARLY EVENING. LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 70S. TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...A BROAD UPPER TROUGH SETS UP OVER THE REGION AS A WEAK COLD FRONT SAGS TOWARD THE AREA. MODELS SEEM A LITTLE MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS FRONT THAN LAST NIGHT...SHOWING SURFACE DEWPOINTS DROPPING AT LEAST DOWN TO THE 50S AND 60S IN OUR WESTERN GA ZONES AS A WEAK SURFACE LOW PRESSURE AREA DEVELOPS ALONG THE FRONT. DEEP LAYER MOISTURE IS HIGHER FOR TUESDAY...THEN DROPS GENERALLY BELOW 50% FOR WEDNESDAY. THUS...EXPECT SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON CONVECTION TUESDAY...AND ISOLATED TO SCATTERED FOR WEDNESDAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES AROUND 90 NORTH TO THE LOWER 90S SOUTH AND LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 70S. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... A BROAD UPPER LEVEL TROUGH REMAINS OVER THE REGION THROUGH FRIDAY THEN WEAKENS AND LIFTS NORTHEAST SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. AT THE SURFACE...A WEAK/BROAD LOW PRESSURE AREA REMAINS OVER THE AREA THURSDAY...THEN SAGS SOUTHWARD AND DISSIPATES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. BY SUNDAY...A WEDGE LIKE AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE IS SHOWN BY THE GLOBAL MODELS TO DEVELOP OVER THE MID ATLANTIC...EXTENDING SOUTHWEST INTO THE FORECAST AREA. THE DEEP LAYER MOISTURE SEEMS MARGINAL THROUGH THIS PERIOD. THUS...HAVE KEPT SLIGHT CHANCE TO VERY LOW END CHANCE POPS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. LOW LEVEL NORTHEAST WINDS AND UPPER TROUGHING SHOULD KEEP TEMPERATURES NEAR NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO AROUND 90 AND LOWS IN THE UPPER 60S TO THE LOWER 70S. && .AVIATION /18Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... I WILL BE ADDING IN A TEMPO PERIOD FOR DETERIORATED CONDITIONS AT KSAV WITH THE LINE APPROACHING FROM THE WEST. GENERAL THOUGHT IS THAT THE CONVECTION WILL MAINLY EFFECT THE 1930Z TO 2100Z PERIOD. THE MODELS CONTINUE TO BRING IN A THREAT OF ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT. SINCE THEY HAVE BEEN REASONABLY CONSISTENT WITH THIS SCENARIO...I WILL START TO HINT AT THE POSSIBILITY OF CONVECTION BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z WITH THIS PACKAGE. FUTURE SHIFTS CAN REFINE THE TIMING AND POTENTIAL CONDITIONS. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK... MONDAY...MAINLY VFR. EXPECT ONLY ISOLATED AFTERNOON CONVECTION...MAINLY INLAND/WEST OF BOTH TERMINALS. TUESDAY...DEEPER MOISTURE ALONG WITH A DEVELOPING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SHOULD TRANSLATE TO SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON CONVECTION WITH BRIEF FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS POSSIBLE. WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...MAINLY VFR. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION...BUT DEEP LAYER MOISTURE WILL BE MARGINAL. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CONVECTION EXPECTED EACH DAY WITH BRIEF FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS POSSIBLE. SUNDAY...THE UPPER TROUGH LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD AS A BROAD UPPER RIDGE BUILDS FROM THE WEST. GLOBAL MODELS SHOW ONLY MARGINAL MOISTURE...WITH ISOLATED AFTERNOON CONVECTION. && .MARINE... A WEAK PRESSURE PATTERN WILL PERSIST OVER THE WATERS THROUGH TONIGHT WITH SPEEDS MAINLY 10 KT OR LESS. SEAS 2 FT OR LESS WITH A SMALL GROUND SWELL EXPECTED. NO HIGHLIGHTS EXPECTED MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. WINDS GENERALLY 15 KTS OR LESS AND SEAS 3 FEET OR LESS THROUGH THE WEEK. WEAK ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN CENTERED EAST OF THE WATERS THROUGH THE WEEK AS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALONG A STALLED FRONT REMAINS OVER SOUTHEAST SC AND GA. VARIABLE WINDS MONDAY WILL VEER TO MORE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST BY TUESDAY AS THE LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS OVER SOUTHEAST SC/GA. HIGHER PRESSURE MAY TRY TO BUILD FROM THE NORTH BY LATE WEEK/FRIDAY... BACKING WINDS TO EAST-NORTHEAST. WATERSPOUTS...CONDITIONS APPEAR TO BE FAVORABLE FOR AN ENHANCED RISK OF WATERSPOUTS THIS MORNING AND AGAIN ON MONDAY MORNING. WE HAVE ISSUED A MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT FOR PORTIONS OF THE COAST THROUGH THROUGH MID MORNING GIVEN 1130Z SATELLITE IMAGERY OF CU LINES AND SOME TOWERS. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && SYNOPSIS... NEAR TERM...FWA SHORT TERM...RFM LONG TERM...RFM AVIATION... MARINE...RFM EQUIPMENT...
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 441 AM EDT SUN AUG 23 2015 AMZ330-350-352-354-374-GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141-SCZ040- 042>045-047>052-240845- CHARLESTON HARBOR- 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- 441 AM EDT SUN AUG 23 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS...SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ASSISTANCE IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
215 PM EDT SUN AUG 23 2015
GAZ087-088-100-SCZ040-042-231915-
BULLOCH GA-SCREVEN GA-JENKINS GA-ALLENDALE SC-HAMPTON SC-
215 PM EDT SUN AUG 23 2015
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF SCREVEN...JENKINS...
BULLOCH...HAMPTON AND ALLENDALE COUNTIES UNTIL 315 PM EDT...
AT 215 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR SARDIS TO NEAR
PORTAL...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
WIND GUSTS OF 50 TO 55 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
ALLENDALE...SYLVANIA...MIDDLEGROUND...ESTILL...FAIRFAX...PORTAL...
BRUNSON AND HILTONIA.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THESE STORMS MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND
TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
REPORT DAMAGE DIRECTLY TO THE CHARLESTON NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT
1-888-383-2024 WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL YOUR
REPORT TO CHS.SKYWARN@NOAA.GOV.
&&
LAT...LON 3295 8184 3291 8176 3304 8156 3310 8161
3316 8154 3311 8137 3312 8120 3306 8113
3261 8125 3251 8197 3254 8202
TIME...MOT...LOC 1815Z 241DEG 34KT 3292 8178 3259 8195SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
217 PM EDT SUN AUG 23 2015
GAZ088-099>101-114>116-137-138-231915-
BULLOCH GA-TATTNALL GA-SCREVEN GA-LONG GA-INLAND LIBERTY GA-
INLAND BRYAN GA-EVANS GA-CANDLER GA-EFFINGHAM GA-
217 PM EDT SUN AUG 23 2015
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF SCREVEN...BRYAN...
BULLOCH...CANDLER...LONG...TATTNALL...EVANS...EFFINGHAM AND LIBERTY
COUNTIES UNTIL 315 PM EDT...
AT 217 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF TWIN
CITY TO NEAR PLANT HATCH...AND MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.
WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
HINESVILLE...STATESBORO...REIDSVILLE...METTER...CLAXTON...PEMBROKE...
BAY AND WESTSIDE.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS...AND MAY
LEAD TO FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE
YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS.
THESE STORMS MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND
TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
&&
LAT...LON 3216 8218 3223 8221 3250 8209 3258 8138
3178 8154 3179 8198 3186 8211 3190 8211
3189 8213 3191 8213 3190 8219 3192 8222
TIME...MOT...LOC 1817Z 276DEG 39KT 3250 8209 3194 8230The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 57 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:30 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Sylvania Fire Department reported multiple trees down on a private property in the Sylvan Heights neighborhood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, August 2015
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: 593348.