NWS Wilmington, NC

Weather Forecast Office

Tropical Storm Kyle and the Georgetown Tornado of October 11, 2002

On October 11, 2002, Tropical Storm Kyle moved along the South and North Carolina coastlines, producing heavy rainfall, gusty winds along the beaches, and an F2 tornado in Georgetown, SC which injured eight people. Kyle was a very long lived tropical storm - in fact it was the third longest lived Atlantic Tropical Storm in history, lasting 21 days. Kyle meandered across the western Atlantic in an erratic, looping path which did not appear to be aimed at the US Coast until only days before its landfall. Luckily, Kyle was a weak storm with maximum sustained winds of only 45 mph as it affected land.

Kyle lasted for 21 days making it the third longest lasting tropical cyclone in recorded Atlantic Ocean history. Hurricane Ginger in 1971 lasted 30 days which is the record for the Atlantic Ocean. By the time Kyle made it to the Carolina coastline it was only a weak tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of around 45 mph. Below is a listing of the peak wind gusts recorded at various sites along the Carolina coast.

Kyle will be remembered for its heavy rainfall, and for the tornado it produced in Georgetown, SC. Landfalling tropical systems often produce tornadoes due to strong vertical shear found in the storm's swirling wind flow. A tornado watch was issued for all of northeast South Carolina, including Georgetown, from 10:20 am until 4:00 pm. At 1:12 pm, forecasters from the National Weather Service in Wilmington saw evidence on doppler radar for a tornado over Georgetown and issued a Tornado Warning. Residents interviewed the next day said they heard the warning rebroadcast over television just before the storm struck.

A storm survey was conducted by the National Weather Service in Wilmington. This survey found damage ranging from F0 (limbs torn from trees) all the way to F2. (car overturned) The F2 damage occurred only in a small area and was surrounded by F1 and F0 damage on either side of the path.

TIME           LOCATION                        WIND   WIND
EDT           CITY/COUNTY                       DIR   GUST 

         ...NORTH CAROLINA...

250 PM   HOLLY SHELTER SWAMP/PENDER              S     23

116 PM   WILMINGTON AIRPORT/NEW HANOVER          S     24
135 PM   CASTLE HAYNE/NEW HANOVER                S     21
220 PM   US 421 N OF WILMINGTON/NEW HANOVER      S     28
305 PM   CORNING PLANT/NEW HANOVER               S     21
220 PM   DOWNTOWN EOC BLDG/NEW HANOVER           S     25
420 AM   17TH ST WILMINGTON/NEW HANOVER          E     25
320 PM   WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH/NEW HANOVER          SE    37
305 PM   MYRTLE GROVE/NEW HANOVER                S     22
335 PM   CAROLINA BEACH/NEW HANOVER              S     48
345 PM   STATE PORT/NEW HANOVER                  SE    28
         COLLEGE RD & OLEANDER BLVD/NEW HANOVER        26
         NORTH CAROLINA BATTLESHIP/NEW HANOVER         31
         SUNSPREE @ WRIGHTSVILLE BCH/NEW HANOVER       34
         WECT TV STUDIOS/NEW HANOVER                   25
        
520 PM   SUPPLY/BRUNSWICK                        NW    35
300 PM   SOUTHPORT AIRPORT/BRUNSWICK             S     30
505 PM   SOUTHPORT/BRUNSWICK                     SW    25
305 PM   OAK ISLAND/BRUNSWICK                    S     44
         BALD HEAD ISLAND/BRUNSWICK                    49
         HOLDEN BEACH/BRUNSWICK                        43
         SOUTHPORT ELEM SCHOOL/BRUNSWICK               32

         ...SOUTH CAROLINA...

123 PM   NORTH MYRTLE BEACH AIRPORT/HORRY        S     26
515 AM   MYRTLE BEACH AIRPORT/HORRY              SE    26

120 PM   GEORGETOWN/GEORGETOWN                   S     50

         ...OFFSHORE...

500 PM   FRYING PAN SHOALS TOWER                 SE    44

Rainfall from Kyle varied widely across the area, ranging from around half an inch to over six inches across mainly the South Carolina counties. A Flood Watch was in effect for the entire area, and Flood warnings were issued for Florence, Williamsburg and Georgetown counties. No significant beach erosion or coastal flooding was reported. The lowest pressures reported with the passage of Kyle across the area were 29.80 in. Hg in Georgetown, SC, and 29.83 in Hg at Carolina Beach, NC.

debris from several mobile homes is scattered across this Georgetown neighborhood	several wooden structures were completely destroyed
this mobile home was rolled over by the tornado. Notice the steps which led to the front door	close-up of the destroyed mobile home
a car was also flipped over by the tornado. this was the basis for rating the tornado an F2	this grocery store had its front glass blown in by the force of the winds
this house had broken windows, a damaged roof, and trees damaged by the tornado	a business suffered damage from a falling tree
mobile home shifted by the winds. debris from other mobile homes surrounds it	trees damaged in a Georgetown graveyard © Brad Freeman
nearly complete damage to the roof of this building. © Brad Freeman	large magnolia tree uprooted © Brad Freeman
outside view of heavily damaged building © Brad Freeman	this grocery store had plate glass windows blown in by the tornado © Brad Freeman
tree split nearly down the middle © Brad Freeman

NWUS52 KILM 122256
LSRILM

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, NC
656 PM EDT SAT OCT 12 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0115 PM    GEORGETOWN                SC   F2 TORNADO
10/11/02   GEORGETOWN                     *** 0 DEAD, 8 INJ ***
                                          TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN WITH
                                          F2 DAMAGE...TOSSING 5
                                          MANUFACTURED HOMES AND A
                                          CAR BEFORE CONTINUING 1
                                          MILE WITH F1 DAMAGE TO
                                          TREES AND AROUND 20 HOUSES
                                          AND STRUCTURES... THEN
                                          ANOTHER 0.25 MILE WITH F0
                                          DAMAGE BEFORE MOVING OVER
                                          MARSHLAND. EIGHT PEOPLE
                                          TREATED AND RELEASED

2 am October 11, 2002	5 am October 11, 2002
8 am October 11, 2002	11 am October 11, 2002
2 pm October 11, 2002	5 pm October 11, 2002
7 pm October 11, 2002	this picture from the Charleston, SC radar shows the barely-discernable center of circulation of Kyle, 11 am October 11, 2002

Page Author: Tim Armstrong
Page Created: October 12, 2002