An upper trough of low pressure helped produced thunderstorms within deep moisture over the southeastern United States.
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The episode as NWS CHS wrote it up.
An upper trough of low pressure helped produced thunderstorms within deep moisture over the southeastern United States.
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 5, 2:34 PM EST, 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Charleston SC 334 PM EDT FRI AUG 5 2016 .SYNOPSIS... The area will be situated between an inland trough and Atlantic high pressure through the weekend. An upper level low pressure system will develop along the northern Gulf coast on Monday and persist for much of the week. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/... The area will remain situated to the south of a weakening stationary front just to the north and west and high pressure to the east. An approaching upper trough will provide some lift and this forcing along with continued deep moisture, some upper jet divergence and low- level convergence associated with jetting will keep a risk for showers and a few thunderstorms overnight. The best chances should be inland this evening and then shift east toward the coast and the Atlantic toward daybreak as some drier air moves in from the west. The main concern with any stronger storms mainly through early evening will be heavy rainfall as storms move slow and possibly over the same areas for a while. Lows will generally be in the mid 70s inland and closer to 80 at the coast. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY/... A rather wet pattern is expected to persist at least through Monday. The upper levels will be rather baggy with weak flow and a continued string of weak vorticity maxima moving across the area. PW values will remain at or above 2" while the steering flow is generally less than 10 kt. Saturday and Sunday we anticipate scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms, primarily driven by mesoscale boundaries and moderate diurnal instability. Coverage may be slightly greater on Sunday due to the inland trough strengthening and drifting toward the area during the afternoon. Torrential rainfall with localized flooding will continue to be the primary concern. On Monday the convective coverage may be greatest across southeast GA due to a developing upper low across the northern Gulf coast states providing enhanced ascent during the afternoon. Highs each day will be in the upper 80s to lower 90s with lows in the mid/upper 70s. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... Latest guidance indicates a mid/upper lvl low lingering over the southeastern United States, but slowly meandering westward Tuesday into Wednesday while Atlantic high pressure gradually builds toward the Southeast coast. Abundant moisture characterized by PWATs between 2.0 to 2.5 inches along with forcing associated with the mid/upper lvl feature will likely support at least chances of showers and thunderstorms through mid week along with the possibility of brief heavy rainfall and gusty winds during stronger thunderstorms. Precip activity should be slightly less in coverage as we head into late week as Atlantic high pressure continues to build westward over the area. However, chances of showers and thunderstorms will remain possible, especially inland during peak heating hours each afternoon/evening. Overall high temps should range in the upper 80s to lower 90s next week. Overnight lows will remain mild, in the mid to upper 70s. && .AVIATION /20Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Mostly VFR through 18Z Saturday. Best chance of showers/thunderstorms at KCHS/KSAV will be through about 21Z at KCHS and 00Z at KSAV. Main concern will be heavy rainfall as the storms will be slow- moving and thus flight restrictions will mainly be due to reduced visibility. Additional showers and storms will be possible overnight but should mostly stay east of the terminals near the coast and offshore before transitioning back inland toward the terminals. Extended Aviation Outlook: Brief flight restrictions are possible at both CHS and SAV terminals, mainly during afternoon/evening showers and thunderstorms. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail. && .MARINE... Tonight: Low-level jetting to kick south/southwest winds up near 20 kt at times with some higher gusts but no Advisories anticipated. In accordance, seas will build closer to 4 feet within near shore waters and 5 feet near the Gulf Stream. There will also be an increasing risk of showers and thunderstorms toward daybreak which at the very least will produce heavy rainfall. Saturday through Tuesday: A southerly flow will persist Saturday through early next week before the flow becomes more southeast as low pressure develops along the northern Gulf coast. The best gradient looks to be Saturday afternoon as high pressure rebuilds from the east and a strong surface trough exists inland. We could see a brief window of 25 kt wind gusts over the Charleston County SC waters during the afternoon so a short Small Craft Advisory may eventually be needed. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...None. SC...None. MARINE...None. && SYNOPSIS... NEAR TERM...RJB SHORT TERM...JRL LONG TERM...DPB AVIATION...JRL/RJB MARINE...JRL/RJB
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 325 PM EDT FRI AUG 5 2016 GAZ087-088-099>101-114>119-137>141-SCZ040-042>045-047>052-061315- 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- 325 PM EDT FRI AUG 5 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA AND SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. HEAVY RAIN...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND LOCALIZED FLOODING THROUGH EARLY EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. HEAVY RAIN...ANY SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP THIS WEEKEND WILL LIKELY PRODUCE TORRENTIAL RAINFALL. LOCALIZED FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ASSISTANCE IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. AMZ330-350-352-354-374-061315- 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- 325 PM EDT FRI AUG 5 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ASSISTANCE IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:29 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The Jasper County 911 Call Center reported 2 pedestrians injured by lightning in Ridgeland.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, August 2016
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: 653306.