South Atlantic Coastal Waters, 2021

Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, August 7, 2021

August 7, 2021 · NWS ILM · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A couple of fair weather waterspouts were spotted off the coast of Horry County near North Myrtle Beach, SC.

Where it happened

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  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
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  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 ILM wrote it up.

A couple of fair weather waterspouts were spotted off the coast of Horry County near North Myrtle Beach, SC.

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 Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 7, 3:02 AM EST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 7, 3:02 AM EST, 1 hour 58 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 7, 2:24 AM EST, 2 hours 36 minutes before
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The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.

Waterspout, Little R Inlet Nc to Murrells Inlet Sc Out 20nm

When
August 7, 5:00 AM EST to 5:05 AM EST
Where
Little R Inlet Nc to Murrells Inlet Sc Out 20nm forecast zone, 8.28 mi NNE of Myrtle Beach Rock
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
33.753, -78.772

NWS Employee, broadcast media, and public reported at least two non-convective waterspouts off the coast of Horry County near Apache Pier Saturday evening.

What these are

Waterspout
A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Atlantic Coastal Waters in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather history

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: 975601.