A warm and moist airmass along with a weak trough of low pressure and associated surface boundary led to an environment capable of producing strong to severe thunderstorms across Southeast Georgia.
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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.
A warm and moist airmass along with a weak trough of low pressure and associated surface boundary led to an environment capable of producing strong to severe thunderstorms across Southeast Georgia.
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 Jun 14, 12:24 PM EST, 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Charleston SC 124 PM EDT Thu Jun 14 2018 .SYNOPSIS... A weak trough will linger in the area today. A southward moving cold front will slowly move through the area Friday and Saturday, dissipating south of the area early next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... This Afternoon: A ridge of high pressure over the western Atlantic will gradually retreat further offshore as a fairly weak mid/upper trough of low pressure and weak sfc boundary eventually approach from the northwest late evening into tonight. Ahead of these features, a light west/southwest wind will help temps warm into the upper 80s nearshore to lower 90s well inland this afternoon before cloud coverage expands due to increasing shower/thunderstorm activity. Sufficient heating and moisture has already led to SBCAPE near 3000-3500 J/kg, supporting diurnally driven showers and thunderstorms with greatest coverage over Southeast Georgia. Showers/thunderstorms should expand in coverage along the seabreeze, then potentially along/near outflow boundary interactions this afternoon/evening well before enhanced forcing arrives with the trough to the north/northwest late. Given high moisture content and weak wind fields, showers and thunderstorms will be slow- moving and could produce locally heavy rainfall. The severe weather threat remains low this afternoon/evening, especially given a lack of larger scale forcing and lower DCAPE values currently in place this afternoon. Tonight: Diurnal convection should generally wane after sunset, but isolated to scattered coverage could continue for some areas through the night. The main driver of this nocturnal convection would be a cold front approaching from the north associated with a weak surface low. Rain chances are in the 20-30 percent range, but could end up being higher depending on the environment and the approaching front. Lows will range in the low to mid 70s. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... The mid-levels on Friday will consist of a long wave trough slowly moving off the East Coast while a strong long wave ridge slowly builds in from the west. Saturday the trough axis will be east of the coastline, continuing to move away. At the same time, the strong ridge should stretch from the Gulf of Mexico northward into the Great Lakes Region. By Sunday the ridge will have shifted further to the east, with it's axis beginning to encompass the Southeast U.S. At the surface, a cold front will approach from the north Friday. The front will slowly move southward through our area Friday night into Saturday, eventually becoming located just south of our area late Saturday or early Sunday. The front will dissipate to our south on Sunday. The southward progression of the front will be aided by high pressure moving from the Great Lakes Region Friday to the Outer Banks of NC Saturday, and then to the east of the Outer Banks on Sunday. The models seem to have trended slightly slower with the front, perhaps dissipating it closer to our area on Sunday. But this is a rather typical scenario for this time of year. Ahead of the front will be a deep layer of moisture with PWATs ~2". The models still hint at pooling up to 2.25" around or just south of the Altamaha area. We kept POPs in the likely category on Friday, which still may not be high enough. Areal precipitation coverage will be highly dependent on the location of the front and various mesoscale forces that will need to be refined in upcoming forecasts. Saturday the highest POPs are across our GA counties, closer to where the front will be. POPs gradually taper Saturday night into Sunday as the front moves southward and dissipates. Instability remains pretty good south of and around the front. For us, Friday and part of Saturday seem to have comparable instability. Again, the details will need to be refined further with upcoming forecasts, including severe potential. The main threat continues to be heavy rainfall, areal flooding due to slow moving and/or training storms, and locally gusty winds. Finally, temperatures will be within a few degrees of normal each day and a few degrees above normal each night. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... A cold front is forecasted to be dissipating south of our area Sunday night. At that time, high pressure should be centered off the coast of the Outer Banks. Monday through Wednesday the high is forecasted to slowly move further offshore, while a trough develops inland. Expect the typical summertime convection each afternoon. Additionally, temperatures and humidity will rise to the point that heat index values could become a concern. && .AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... Showers and thunderstorms will begin developing near the coast early this afternoon. Have maintained TEMPO MVFR conditions at both CHS and SAV terminals due to thunderstorms, generally in the 18-23z time period. There could be additional showers and thunderstorms late tonight, mainly at KCHS, but the probability is too low to include in the forecast at this point. Extended Aviation Outlook: Mainly VFR. Brief flight restrictions are possible in showers and/or thunderstorms, mainly each afternoon and early evening through Saturday. && .MARINE... This Afternoon and Tonight: Winds/seas are expected to remain below Small Craft Advisory thresholds. Southwest to south winds will generally prevail through the afternoon/evening, then turn more westerly by late tonight. Wind speeds will mostly top out in the 10-15 kt range, highest along the land/sea interface with the afternoon sea breeze. Seas are expected to peak in the 2-4 ft range early, highest beyond 20 nm. Extended Marine: A southward moving cold front will slowly move through the coastal waters Friday into Saturday, becoming located just south of our area by Saturday night. Winds will transition with the front, but they will not increase to the point that we would need advisories. Of greater concern will be the occasional thunderstorms, which could bring gusty/erratic winds and frequent lightning. The front will dissipate south of our area on Sunday. At that time high pressure will be in the Atlantic where it will prevail into Monday. A trough will also develop inland on Monday. && .TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING... Minor coastal flooding could occur with the evening high tide. A Coastal Flood Advisory could eventually be needed. Current forecasts show that high tide is expected to peak near 7 feet MLLW in Charleston Harbor and near 9.2 ft MLLW at Fort Pulaski. The combination of astronomical influences and occasional onshore winds will allow the Friday and Saturday evening high tides to approach coastal flood advisory levels. Any heavy rain near the times of these high tides will increase the risk of flooding. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...None. SC...None. MARINE...None. && NEAR TERM...DPB SHORT TERM...MS LONG TERM...MS AVIATION...DPB/MS MARINE...DPB/MS TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING...
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Charleston SC 402 AM EDT Thu Jun 14 2018 GAZ117-119-139-141-SCZ048>051-150815- Coastal Bryan-Coastal Chatham-Coastal Liberty-Coastal McIntosh- Beaufort-Coastal Colleton-Charleston-Coastal Jasper- 402 AM EDT Thu Jun 14 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southeast Georgia and southeast South Carolina. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Coastal Flooding: Minor coastal flooding could occur with the evening high tide. A Coastal Flood Advisory could eventually be needed. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Coastal Flooding: Minor coastal flooding could occur with the evening high tide again Friday and Saturday. Coastal Flood Advisories could be needed. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter assistance is not anticipated at this time. AMZ330-350-352-354-374-GAZ087-088-099>101-114>116-118-137-138-140- SCZ040-042>045-047-052-150815- 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-Inland Chatham-Long-Inland Liberty-Inland McIntosh- Allendale-Hampton-Inland Colleton-Dorchester-Inland Berkeley- Inland Jasper-Tidal Berkeley- 402 AM EDT Thu Jun 14 2018 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...Friday through Wednesday. 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
129 PM EDT THU JUN 14 2018
GAZ101-118-SCZ047-051-141800-
Effingham-Inland Chatham-Inland Jasper-Coastal Jasper-
129 PM EDT THU JUN 14 2018
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF EFFINGHAM...CHATHAM
AND JASPER COUNTIES...
At 128 PM EDT, National Weather Service doppler radar indicated a
strong thunderstorm over Purysburgh, or 11 miles southeast of
Springfield, moving southeast at 15 mph.
HAZARD...strong winds 45 to 55 mph and up to penny sized hail.
IMPACT...Expect minor damage to tree limbs and blowing around of
light, unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to plants,
trees and crops is possible. Damage to windshields is
unlikely.
Some locations in the path of this storm include...
Savannah, Bellinger Hill Area, Rincon, Garden City, Port Wentworth,
Hardeeville, Purysburgh and Meinhard.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
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 nws.charlestonsc@noaa.gov.
&&
LAT...LON 3206 8116 3231 8128 3235 8113 3223 8101
3222 8101 3219 8100 3219 8098 3218 8097
3218 8096 3217 8095 3216 8095
TIME...MOT...LOC 1728Z 328DEG 12KT 3227 8115
ETMThe Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:34 UTC.
2 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An emergency manager reported minor electrical damage due to a lightning strike at a residence on the 200 block of St. Andrews Road.
An emergency manager reported a lightning strike to a transformer, starting a fire and power lines down in the roadway near the 400 block of Ash Street.
An emergency manager reported trees and power lines down at the intersection of Standard Lane and Tusculum Road and at the 200 block of Church Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, June 2018
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: 770814, 770817, 770819.