Tornadoes and Hail in South Carolina, December 5, 1977

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in South Carolina, December 5, 1977
Start: 1977-12-05T10:20
End: 1977-12-05T17:55
Location: South Carolina

December 5, 1977 · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

5 tornado, 1 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: 0
Injuries: 8
Property damage: $2.8 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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

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

Tornado, Pickens

When: December 5, 10:20 AM CST
Where: Pickens County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.750, -82.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenville

When: December 5, 10:45 AM CST
Where: Greenville County
Coordinates: 34.850, -82.400

Tornado, Spartanburg

When: December 5, 1:35 PM CST
Where: Spartanburg County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 35.000, -81.850

Hail, Aiken

When: December 5, 1:40 PM CST
Where: Aiken County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.550, -81.720

Tornado, Cherokee

When: December 5, 1:42 PM CST
Where: Cherokee County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 17 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 35.070, -81.520

Tornado, York

When: December 5, 4:40 PM CST
Where: York County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 35.050, -81.080

Tornado, Orangeburg

When: December 5, 5:55 PM CST
Where: Orangeburg County
Rating: F1
Path length: 9.8 mi
Path width: 130 yd
Injuries: 7 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 33.330, -80.830

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

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Carolina in 1977 Every state in 1977 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Carolina, 1977

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: 10112714, 10112715, 10112716, 10112717, 10112718, 10112719, 10112720.