Marginal instability along and ahead of a cold front led to a band of scattered showers and thunderstorms. An isolated stronger cell produced nickel sized hail.
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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 CAE wrote it up.
Marginal instability along and ahead of a cold front led to a band of scattered showers and thunderstorms. An isolated stronger cell produced nickel sized hail.
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 Mar 25, 5:10 PM EST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Columbia SC 610 PM EDT Mon Mar 25 2019 .SYNOPSIS... A warm southerly flow will reside over the area ahead of an approaching cold front. The front will cross the area tonight producing showers and a few thunderstorms. The front will be just south of the area Tuesday with associated low pressure just off the coast. The low will shift farther eastward and dry ridging will become dominate Wednesday. && .NEAR TERM /TONIGHT/... Water vapor imagery this evening showing upper shortwave moving through northern GA, while the surface cold front is just moving into northwestern GA. Weak instability being shown across the cwa at this time, while slightly higher instability is over central/western GA. Visible imagery shows some breaks in the cloud cover just west of the CSRA. With some sunshine left in the day, may see some slightly higher instability make into the western CSRA prior to sunset. SPC still has areas just west of the Savannah River in a Marginal risk. Can not rule out an isolated storm with small hail and/or strong wind gusts through this evening. Chances for severe should diminish once sunset occurs. The main cold front will pass through late tonight. Still expect quite a few showers and isolated storms along and just ahead of the front, so at this time categorical pops still appear on track for later on tonight. Rainfall amounts of around a quarter of an inch. Overnight lows from the upper 40s north, to the lower 50s south. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... An upper shortwave trough will pass south of the forecast area Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night. A stalled boundary will be along the coast on Tuesday morning with surface high pressure over the Great Lakes region. High pressure will shift over the northeastern CONUS by Wednesday. A drier airmass will be building into the forecast area with precipitable water values around a quarter inch or less by Tuesday evening. Skies will be clearing out by Tuesday night and will remain clear through Wednesday night. Below normal temperatures are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, with highs in the upper 50s to lower 60s. Low temperatures both nights will be in the lower 30s north to upper 30s south. Winds will stay up especially Tuesday night and air will be relatively dry, so believe widespread frost development will not be an issue. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Surface high pressure will be located off the coast of the northeastern CONUS on Thursday and Friday. Low pressure over the Great Plains will move northeastward into the Ohio Valley on Saturday and bring a cold front into the forecast area on Sunday and an associated chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm. The front appears to stall to our south early next week with unsettled conditions continuing. A warming trend is expected through Sunday ahead of the front with cooler temperatures behind the front for Monday. && .AVIATION /22Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... Main short term concern is potential for shower and thunderstorm activity, some possibly strong, through this evening. Scattered showers and thunderstorms along and ahead of an upper disturbance and cold front currently in progress just to our NW, moving to the SE. Latest high resolution models indicate activity moving SE through our forecast area (FA) this evening, then pushing S and SE of our TAF sites after midnight FA. Hi res models appear to favor better chance of thunderstorm coverage near DNL/AGS. Behind the system, a back door front is expected to progress to the south through our FA late tonight, leading to w wind shift to NE and lowering CIGs, along with some light rain. Ahead of this, it is possible that some fog could develop, if enough breaks in the cloud cover occur, and would favor AGS. Continued low cloudiness expected Tuesday, with CIG heights expected to gradually rise during the day, with VFR possibly achieved by late afternoon. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK... No significant impacts to aviation expected Wednesday through Saturday. && .CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...None. SC...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Columbia SC 405 AM EDT Mon Mar 25 2019 GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-260815- Lincoln-McDuffie-Columbia-Richmond-Burke-Lancaster-Chesterfield- McCormick-Newberry-Fairfield-Kershaw-Edgefield-Saluda-Lexington- Richland-Lee-Aiken-Sumter-Barnwell-Orangeburg-Calhoun-Clarendon- Bamberg- 405 AM EDT Mon Mar 25 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Midlands of South Carolina and the Central Savannah River area of Georgia. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. There could be a few strong thunderstorms with wind or hail as a cold front moves through the region this evening. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Columbia SC
822 PM EDT MON MAR 25 2019
GAZ065-077-SCZ030-260045-
Burke GA-Richmond GA-Aiken SC-
822 PM EDT MON MAR 25 2019
...Strong Thunderstorms Will Impact Portions of northwestern Burke...
Richmond and southwestern Aiken Counties Until 845 PM EDT....
At 822 PM EDT...National Weather Service doppler radar indicated
strong thunderstorms along a line extending from Glendale to 6 miles
east of Wrens, moving southeast at 35 mph.
HAZARD...gusty winds 40 to 50 mph and pea 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 these storms include...
Waynesboro, Hephzibah, Jackson, Burke County Airport, Glendale, South
Augusta, Midtown, Summerville, Daniel Field, McBean, Augusta Regional
Airport, Blythe, Keysville, New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam Park, Glenn
Hills, Bath-Edie, Savannah River Site Badge Office, Westover,
Richmond County Recreation Center and Phinizy Swamp Nature Park.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Persons in campgrounds should seek shelter until these storms pass.
&&
This includes Interstate 520 in Georgia between mile markers 4 and
14.
LAT...LON 3294 8205 3319 8226 3323 8223 3327 8226
3327 8228 3349 8202 3333 8158 3320 8176
3317 8177
TIME...MOT...LOC 0022Z 301DEG 32KT 3344 8199 3323 8228The Columbia radar (KCAE), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:34 UTC.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Public reported nickel sized hail at Goshen Industrial Blvd and Mike Padgett Hwy. Time estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, March 2019
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: 809716.