There's no question we've had our fair share of epic weather events on the Grand Strand and in the Pee Dee, from tornadoes and hurricanes to winter storms and heat waves.
Tuesday and Wednesday nights, your First Alert Weather Team is taking a look at the top ten weather events in our area in the past 60 years. They are ranked unscientifically, but based on impact interest and damage.
Tuesday night we revealed the bottom 5 in our top 10 list:
#10 Massive Heat Wave. August 2007.
A brutal heat wave gripped the entire state of South Carolina. It was the hottest week on record with six consecutive days over one hundred degrees. Florence hit 106 degrees three days in a row. That's only two degrees off the all time record high of 108. August 2007 was the hottest August on record. In case you were wondering, the coldest night on record was January 21st, 1985. Myrtle Beach hit five degrees. Florence and Marion bottomed out at zero. It was minus one in Dillon and minus five in Bennettsville.
#9 Crippling Ice Storm. January 2004.
Warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico over sub-freezing air at the ground produced widespread rain that froze on contact. A layer of ice nearly an inch thick accumulated on trees and powerlines. The shear weight of the ice brought down trees and powerlines in western Horry, Marion and Florence counties. Power was out for days and left communities looking like war zones.
#8 Destructive Hailstorm. May 2000.
Raging storms moved through the city of Florence in the evening hours, snapping trees in half and dropping hailstones larger than softballs. At four and half inches wide, the hail was the largest on record for South Carolina. It shattered windows and windshields and dented hoods and roofs causing millions of dollars in damage. It's a night residents of Florence will never forget.
#7 Hurricane Hazel. October 1954.
Hazel is the most powerful hurricane to hit the Grand Strand. The storm roared ashore near Little River as a Category 4 hurricane with 140mph winds. Hazel destroyed 90% of ocean front property from Little River to Garden City. Only three of 275 homes in Garden City were left habitable after the storm.
#6 Hurricane Floyd. September 1999.
Nearly a Category 5 hurricane in the Bahamas, Floyd prompted the largest peace time evacuation in American history. By landfall Floyd had weakened to a Cat 2, but produced relentless rain in the Carolinas, including twenty inches in Horry County. Floyd is remembered for its massive flooding. 50 of the 56 people killed in Hurricane Floyd drowned more than one hundred miles from the coast.
For the top 5, tune in to NewsChannel 15 at 6, Wednesday night.
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