Flash Flood — Laurens, South Carolina

2025-05-13 · near Watts Mills, Laurens, South Carolina

Event narrative

County comms reported flash flooding developed in the Laurens area and in Waterloo after a swath of 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in this area in 2-3 hours. Long Lick Branch overflowed its banks in the Waterloo area and inundated Todd Quarter Rd, which had to be closed. Harris Springs Rd was also inundated by water from Cane Creek. In the city of Laurens, the Little River overflowed its banks and flooded Little River Park. A tributary of the Little River flooded a portion of Fleming St, where a motorist became stranded in floodwater.

Wider weather episode

Scattered thunderstorms and storm clusters developed across upstate South Carolina during the evening. One storm produced a brief tornado in Abbeville County. Storms and clusters tended to move slowly, resulting in locally heavy rainfall, with isolated flash flooding developing where multiple storms moved over the same areas.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.5070, -81.9980)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1267592. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.