Tropical Storm — Saluda, South Carolina

2024-09-27 · Saluda, South Carolina

Event narrative

Widespread damage to trees and power lines. Many roads closed, some for extended periods of time. Large sections of the county without power for an extended period. Falling trees caused damage to structures across the county. At least 269 homes sustained some level of damage including 23 destroyed and 90 with major damage. South Carolina Forestry estimated 4.2 million dollars in timber loss. An NWS storm survey estimated that max wind gusts were between 80 to 90 mph based on the extent and severity of damage. Three fatalities occurred, including two firefighters responding to a call who died when a tree fell on their truck. Areas of flooding occurred with two day rainfall totals generally between 5 to 7 inches. The maximum measured two day rainfall was 7.12 inches from a CoCoRaHS gage along Hwy 378 near the Lexington County line.

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Helene formed in the NW Caribbean Sea on September 24. Helene moved northward into the Gulf of Mexico where it strengthened into a hurricane on September 25. Helene made landfall as a major hurricane in the Big Bend area of Florida the night of September 26 before quickly moving inland into east central Georgia by early morning on September 27. Helene weakened to a strong tropical storm and produced widespread significant wind damage, including wind gusts above 100 mph across east central Georgia and central South Carolina as well as numerous tornadoes. Numerous fatalities and injuries were reported associated with the passage of Helene.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1209507. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.