Tornado, Spartanburg
- When
- August 17, 10:50 AM CST
- Where
- Spartanburg County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 9 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Injuries
- 39 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 34.970, -82.000
Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 17, 1985
8 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 39
- Property damage
- $3.0 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 12
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 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Spartanburg
- When
- August 17, 11:00 AM CST
- Where
- Spartanburg County
- Coordinates
- 34.950, -81.920
Thunderstorm Wind, Cherokee
- When
- August 17, 12:17 PM CST
- Where
- Cherokee County
- Coordinates
- 34.980, -81.400
Tornado, York
- When
- August 17, 12:55 PM CST
- Where
- York County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 3 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 34.880, -81.270
Tornado, York
- When
- August 17, 1:00 PM CST
- Where
- York County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 35.050, -81.150
Thunderstorm Wind, Cherokee
- When
- August 17, 1:10 PM CST
- Where
- Cherokee County
- Coordinates
- 34.980, -81.400
Tornado, Union
- When
- August 17, 1:15 PM CST
- Where
- Union County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 3 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 34.870, -81.700
Thunderstorm Wind, York
- When
- August 17, 1:20 PM CST
- Where
- York County
- Coordinates
- 35.000, -81.230
Thunderstorm Wind, Cherokee
- When
- August 17, 1:30 PM CST
- Where
- Cherokee County
- Coordinates
- 34.980, -81.400
Thunderstorm Wind, York
- When
- August 17, 1:46 PM CST
- Where
- York County
- Coordinates
- 35.100, -81.230
Thunderstorm Wind, Cherokee
- When
- August 17, 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cherokee County
- Coordinates
- 34.980, -81.400
Thunderstorm Wind, York
- When
- August 17, 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- York County
- Coordinates
- 35.020, -80.930
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, August 17, 1985
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Georgia, August 17, 1985
- Tornadoes in Wisconsin, August 17, 1985
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, August 17, 1985
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 17, 1985
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, August 17, 1985
- Damaging Wind in Texas, August 17, 1985
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 17, 1985
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, August 17, 1985
More
Every storm in South Carolina in 1985Every state in 1985This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Carolina, 1985
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: 10111793, 10111794, 10111795, 10111796, 10111797, 10111798, 10111799, 10111800, 10111801, 10111802, 10112082, 10112083.