Thunderstorm Wind in Clarendon County, South Carolina

A broken line of thunderstorms formed along an outflow boundary and moved across the northern half of Lake Marion the evening of 5/23. Estimated winds from these thunderstorms were up to 35 kts. As these storms pushed across the lake, a women was fatally wounded from being struck by an umbrella at the Driftwood Grill restaurant on the eastern shore of Lake Marion. Report received from local media, time estimated by radar.

A lingering stalled front remained in the forecast area 5/23, but a embedded shortwave in the general troughing pattern moved in during the afternoon and evening hours, leading to scattered convection to develop. The environment ahead of this shortwave was characterized by MLCAPE values over 2000 J/kg and effective shear near 30-35 kts. Scattered strong to severe storms moved across the forecast area during the afternoon and evening hours, bringing damaging winds, hail up to golf ball sized, and even a report of a waterspout over Lake Murray in SC.