Tornadoes and Hail in South Carolina, December 13, 1973

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in South Carolina, December 13, 1973
Start: 1973-12-13T13:53
End: 1973-12-13T16:45
Location: South Carolina

December 13, 1973 · 11 events in 3 counties and zones

8 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 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

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The toll

Deaths: 3
Injuries: 34
Property damage: $18 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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

8 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Laurens

When: December 13, 1:53 PM CST
Where: Laurens County
Rating: F3
Path length: 4.1 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.270, -82.050

Tornado, Greenwood

When: December 13, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Greenwood County
Rating: F3
Path length: 6.6 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.270, -82.170

Tornado, Greenwood

When: December 13, 2:25 PM CST
Where: Greenwood County
Rating: F3
Path length: 15.4 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Injuries: 26 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.130, -82.170

Tornado, Newberry

When: December 13, 2:25 PM CST
Where: Newberry County
Rating: F3
Path length: 2.3 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.170, -81.900

Tornado, Greenwood

When: December 13, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Greenwood County
Rating: F4
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.180, -82.020

Tornado, Newberry

When: December 13, 3:03 PM CST
Where: Newberry County
Rating: F3
Path length: 17.3 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.200, -81.720

Hail, Newberry

When: December 13, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Newberry County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.200, -81.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Laurens

When: December 13, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Laurens County
Coordinates: 34.580, -81.930

Thunderstorm Wind, Laurens

When: December 13, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Laurens County
Coordinates: 34.500, -82.030

Tornado, Newberry

When: December 13, 4:16 PM CST
Where: Newberry County
Rating: F2
Path length: 30.5 mi
Path width: 80 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.200, -81.530

Tornado, Newberry

When: December 13, 4:45 PM CST
Where: Newberry County
Rating: F2
Path length: 3.8 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 34.170, -81.400

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.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Newberry	1973-12-13				Direct

What these are

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Carolina in 1973 Every state in 1973 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Carolina, 1973

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: 10114443, 10114444, 10114445, 10114446, 10114447, 10114448, 10114449, 10114450, 10114451, 10114452, 10114453.