South Carolina, 1961

Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in South Carolina, April 12, 1961

April 12, 1961 · 4 events in 3 counties and zones

3 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$300,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

3 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Beaufort

When
April 12, 8:59 AM CST
Where
Beaufort County
Measured
100 kt (115 mph)
Coordinates
32.380, -80.680

Tornado, Beaufort

When
April 12, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Beaufort County
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
32.180, -80.750

Tornado, Charleston

When
April 12, 9:43 AM CST
Where
Charleston County
Rating
F1
Path length
2.5 mi
Path width
67 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
32.730, -79.950

Tornado, Darlington

When
April 12, 4:10 PM CST
Where
Darlington County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
40 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
34.370, -80.070

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Tornado, Darlington1961-04-12Direct

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 1961Every state in 1961This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Carolina, 1961

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10118513, 10118514, 10118515, 10118516.