Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, January 14, 1995

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, January 14, 1995
Start: 1995-01-14T08:14
End: 1995-01-14T14:05
Location: South Carolina

January 14, 1995 · 16 events in 9 counties and zones

11 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $96,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 16

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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Newberry

When: January 14, 8:14 AM EST to 8:15 AM EST
Where: Newberry County, Prosperity
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 34.180, -81.500

Tornado touched down in wooded area near Highways 202/434.

Tornado, Newberry

When: January 14, 8:29 AM EST to 8:30 AM EST
Where: Newberry County, Pomaria
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Coordinates: 34.270, -81.420

Tornado touched down and sheared off two trees.

Tornado, Orangeburg

When: January 14, 9:25 AM EST to 9:26 AM EST
Where: Orangeburg County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 33.520, -81.050

Tornado touched down in Bowlentown Community and severely damaged a large storage shed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Oconee

When: January 14, 9:30 AM EST
Where: Oconee County, Fair Play
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 34.754, -83.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Oconee

When: January 14, 9:30 AM EST
Where: Oconee County, Fair Play
Rating: F1
Path length: 30 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 34.520, -83.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Lexington

When: January 14, 9:45 AM EST
Where: Lexington County, Se Part Near to Near County Line
Coordinates: 33.902, -81.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Pickens

When: January 14, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Pickens County, Clemson
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 34.888, -82.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Richland

When: January 14, 10:03 AM EST
Where: Richland County, Western Part
Coordinates: 34.022, -80.903 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Large tree branches and small trees blown down in southeastern Lexington County near Lexington. Trees and branches blown down near Highwway 378 east of Columbia.

Thunderstorm Wind, Oconee

When: January 14, 10:07 AM EST
Where: Oconee County, Walhalla
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 34.754, -83.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Oconee

When: January 14, 10:15 AM EST
Where: Oconee County, Picket Post Area
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 34.754, -83.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Pickens

When: January 14, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Pickens County, Easley Area
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 34.888, -82.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenville

When: January 14, 10:40 AM EST
Where: Greenville County, Simpsonville
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 34.894, -82.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Spartanburg

When: January 14, 10:43 AM EST
Where: Spartanburg County, Spartanburg
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 34.931, -81.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Laurens

When: January 14, 10:50 AM EST
Where: Laurens County, Clinton
Property damage: $500
Coordinates: 34.484, -82.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A line of severe thunderstorms with a "bow echo" appearance moved swiftly through the Upstate during the morning hours. Highest winds with the bow were around the Georgia border in Oconee County and one small tornado was generated west of Fair Play. Large trees were uprooted and pines were snapped by winds about 85 knots along a path 30 yards wide and one mile long. Gust front winds in the same area accounted for some damage. A roof of an addition to a mobile home was removed in Walhalla and trees fell in many locations. The wet ground contributed to some of the tree damage. In Clemson a tree fell through a residence. Other trees brought down power lines across the area and power was out to several thousand customers well into the evening. In Simpsonville tree limbs were punched through the roof of a residence, the limbs were carried for some distance since there was no trees near the house. Power outages were quite widespread across western parts of Greenville County although Donaldson Center Air Park only recorded gusts to 41 knots.

Tornado, Lexington

When: January 14, 11:56 AM EST to 12:02 PM EST
Where: Lexington County, Pelion
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 75 yd
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 33.770, -81.330

Tornado on ground continuously for one mile with several touchdowns over another mile. Damage included heavy timber damage.

Thunderstorm Wind, Richland

When: January 14, 2:05 PM EST
Where: Richland County, Se Part of County
Coordinates: 34.022, -80.903 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trees down at Wateree.

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

Every storm in South Carolina in 1995 Every state in 1995 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Carolina, 1995 Warnings in South Carolina, January 1995

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: 10346823, 10346824, 10345513, 10346850, 10346851, 10346751, 10346906, 10346991, 10346852, 10346853, 10346907, 10347117, 10346005, 10346707, 10346752, 10346992.