Thunderstorms over Richland County produced 2 to 4 inches of rain within 1 to 2 hours producing flash flooding in Columbia. A couple of vehicles became trapped in the flooding when trying to drive through the flooded areas.
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.
Thunderstorms over Richland County produced 2 to 4 inches of rain within 1 to 2 hours producing flash flooding in Columbia. A couple of vehicles became trapped in the flooding when trying to drive through the flooded areas.
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 Sep 21, 1:39 PM EST, 6 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 239 PM EDT MON SEP 21 2015 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT IN THE CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE WILL SLOWLY SINK SOUTHWARD AND THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT. THE FRONT WILL BE JUST SOUTH OF THE REGION TUESDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... SURFACE LOW NEAR AUGUSTA WITH A NEARLY STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING NE TO SW. COOLER TEMPS ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE BOUNDARY WITH TEMPS IN THE 70S REMAINDER OF THE DAY AND 80S ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE FRONT. THE FRONT IS FORECAST TO SLOWLY SAG SOUTHEASTWARD. MODELS CONTINUE TO TRY TO INDICATE SOME SHOWER/STORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE CWA AND CURRENT RADAR SUPPORTS THIS. EXPECT SHOWER ACTIVITY TO INCREASE AS THE DAY WEARS ON. WARM ADVECTION OVER THE COOLER AIR TONIGHT WILL BRING A GREATER CHANCE OF RAIN. MAX TEMPS TODAY IN THE UPPER 70S WEST OF THE BOUNDARY WITH UPPER 80S EAST OF THE BOUNDARY. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE IN THE LOWER 60S WEST AND UPPER 60S EAST. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... MODELS SHOW AN UPPER TROUGH THAT CLOSES ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST AND LINGERS FOR MUCH OF THE WEEK. AT THE SURFACE...A FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT HAS BEEN LINGERING ACROSS THE NC/SC BORDER AND INTO THE UPSTATE THIS AFTERNOON WILL GRADUALLY SLIP SOUTHWARD OVER THE FORECAST AREA BY TUESDAY MORNING. THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE PUSHING FURTHER SOUTH OF THE REGION ON TUESDAY WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING IN FROM THE NORTH. THE LOW LEVEL SURFACE FLOW COMBINED WITH THE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL PRODUCE SOME WEAK ISENTROPIC LIFT ACROSS THE AREA TUESDAY AND THEN DIMINISHING TUESDAY NIGHT. WILL CONTINUE WITH CHANCE POPS FOR TUESDAY UNDER WEDGE-LIKE SETUP. HIGHS ON TUESDAY ARE FORECAST BELOW NORMAL...IN THE UPPER 70S NORTH TO LOWER 80S SOUTH. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... A WEAK UPPER LOW WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES THROUGH THE WORK WEEK AND WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN AS IT RETROGRADES WESTWARD OVER THE WEEKEND. AT THE SURFACE...AN INVERTED TROUGH OR WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSRUE WILL REMAIN OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST WITH A LONG-FETCH ONSHORE FLOW. AT THIS TIME...MODELS STILL INDICATE A SMALL POP FOR WEDNESDAY BUT HAVE LEFT IT DRY AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...INCREASING POPS CHANCES WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY AND THEN CONTINUED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME...BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWERS/ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM APPEAR TO BE ON THURSDAY WITH MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THE CLOSED LOW AND MOIST LOW LEVEL SURFACE FLOW FROM THE NORTHEAST. HIGH TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE LONG TERM ARE FORECAST TO BE BELOW OR NEAR CLIMO...MAINLY IN THE LOWER 80S EXCEPT FOR THE 70S ON THURSDAY WITH ADDITIONAL CLOUDS/CHANCES FOR PCPN. && .AVIATION /19Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... VFR EXPECTED THROUGH THE DAY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS. EXPECT STRATUS AND AREAS OF RAIN TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT WITH MVFR/IFR CIGS/VSBYS BY 09Z. THESE CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. GENERALLY LIGHT WINDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT AS A WEAK FRONTAL SYSTEM DRIFTS SOUTHEASTWARD TOWARD THE COAST. EARLY MORNING. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK... NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO AVIATION EXPECTED WEDNESDAY. LOW CONFIDENCE CONTINUES LATE IN THE FORECAST PERIOD. && .CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. GA...NONE. && 77
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 418 AM EDT MON SEP 21 2015 GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-220830- LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD- MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON- RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON- BAMBERG- 418 AM EDT MON SEP 21 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA. .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.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
352 PM EDT MON SEP 21 2015
GAZ077-212045-
BURKE-
352 PM EDT MON SEP 21 2015
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT SOUTHWESTERN BURKE COUNTY...
AT 350 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS OVER MIDVILLE...OR 13 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF LOUISVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 MPH.
WIND GUSTS OF 35 TO 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
MIDVILLE.
HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM...AND MAY CAUSE
LOCALIZED FLOODING. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN
WITH MORE EXPECTED DUE TO THE SLOW STORM MOVEMENT. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR
VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS.
LAT...LON 3282 8226 3283 8231 3293 8227 3304 8229
3292 8207 3292 8208 3288 8213 3281 8215
3282 8216
TIME...MOT...LOC 1950Z 220DEG 5KT 3284 8227
CJR<!doctype html>
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</html>The Columbia radar (KCAE), 9 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:09 UTC.
2 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Columbia Police reported flooding at the intersection of Main and Whaley trapping a car. The occupants escaped before the flood waters rose to 4 feet above the roads.
Richland County EM reported flooding on several streets in downtown Columbia including Harden, Rosewood, Lyon, and Calhoun streets. One car was trapped when the water rose 3 feet above the road. The occupants were able to get safely to higher ground.
NWS storm survey found a couple of trees down on Pine Thicket Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, September 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: 595705, 595706, 595754.