South Carolina, 2019

High Wind in South Carolina, December 23, 2019

December 23, 2019 · NWS CHS · 5 events in 1 county or zone

A strong pressure gradient associated with a passing low pressure system led to enhanced low-level wind fields and a period of strong winds across the Charleston area.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS CHS wrote it up.

A strong pressure gradient associated with a passing low pressure system led to enhanced low-level wind fields and a period of strong winds across the Charleston area.

What forecasters said that day

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 Dec 23, 7:30 PM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 7:30 PM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes before
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Event by event

5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Charleston

When
December 23, 9:25 PM EST to 9:26 PM EST
Where
Charleston forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

The Weatherflow sensor at Isle Of Palms measured a wind gust of 61 mph.

High Wind, Charleston

When
December 23, 10:23 PM EST to 10:24 PM EST
Where
Charleston forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

The Weatherflow sensor at Folly Beach Pier measured a wind gust of 58 mph.

High Wind, Charleston

When
December 23, 10:28 PM EST to 10:29 PM EST
Where
Charleston forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

The Weatherflow sensor at Shutes Folly measured a wind gust of 59 mph.

High Wind, Charleston

When
December 23, 10:30 PM EST to 10:31 PM EST
Where
Charleston forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

The sensor at James Island Yatch Club measured a wind gust of 58 mph.

High Wind, Charleston

When
December 23, 11:08 PM EST to 11:09 PM EST
Where
Charleston forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

The Weatherflow sensor on the Folly Beach Pier measured a wind gust of 59 mph.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, December 2019

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 864014, 864039, 864040, 864041, 864042.