South Carolina, 1997

Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, July 23 to 27, 1997

July 23 to 27, 1997 · NWS CAE · 11 events in 7 counties and zones

6 tornado, 5 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
8
Property damage
$1.4 million
Crop damage
$25,000
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.

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Saluda

When
July 23, 4:30 PM EST
Where
Saluda County, 7 mi W of Saluda
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
34.000, -81.880

Electric Company reports powerlines down, blown transormers, and power outages.

Thunderstorm Wind, Richland

When
July 23, 6:22 PM EST
Where
Richland County, 3 mi NE of (Mmt)mc Entire Ang
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
33.950, -80.770

McEntire ANG Base personnel report large tree branches down northeast of the base.

Thunderstorm Wind, Orangeburg

When
July 23, 7:50 PM EST
Where
Orangeburg County, North
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
33.620, -81.100

TV meteorologist reports tree tops broken off and damage to a roof on a home.

Tornado, Lexington

When
July 23, 10:53 PM EST to 11:06 PM EST
Where
Lexington County, Gaston to 4 mi NE of Gaston
Rating
F2
Path length
3.5 mi
Path width
200 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$917,000
Crop damage
$25,000
Coordinates
33.850, -81.050

An F2 tornado producing winds to 150 mph killed a 32 year old female and injured 6 others. Two homes were destroyed and 9 others had major damage. Two apartements were destroyed (duplex). Seven mobile homes were destroyed and 94 had minor damage. Numerous trees were down and two crop fields had areas of destroyed crops.

Tornado, Richland

When
July 23, 11:14 PM EST to 11:23 PM EST
Where
Richland County, Columbia to 3 mi E of Columbia
Rating
F1
Path length
3 mi
Path width
100 yd
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$205,000
Coordinates
33.970, -80.980

An F1 tornado produced winds to 100 mph. Numerous trees were down and 35 homes had minor damage. Seventeen businesses also had minor damage. One person was injured.

Tornado, Richland

When
July 23, 11:32 PM EST to 11:36 PM EST
Where
Richland County, Columbia to 13 mi ENE of Columbia
Rating
F0
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
75 yd
Coordinates
34.070, -80.800

An F0 tornado touched down on the north side of Ft. Jackson and took down some trees in the training area.

Tornado, Kershaw

When
July 23, 11:48 PM EST to July 24, 12:04 AM EST
Where
Kershaw County, Camden to 3 mi NE of Camden
Rating
F2
Path length
6 mi
Path width
125 yd
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$225,000
Coordinates
34.220, -80.570

An F2 tornado produced winds to 135 mph. Numerous trees were down. Two homes had major damage and three had minor damage. One mobile home was destroyed and three others had minor damage. One person was injured.

Tornado, Kershaw

When
July 24, 12:20 AM EST to 12:24 AM EST
Where
Kershaw County, Bethune to 4 mi NNE of Bethune
Rating
F1
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
85 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
34.470, -80.350

An F1 tornado produced winds to 90 mph and damaged a home north of Bethune before crossing the county and and diminishing to an F0 which took down many trees in the Carolina Sand Hills National Wildlife Refuge just north of Mc Bee.

Tornado, Chesterfield

When
July 24, 12:24 AM EST to 12:29 AM EST
Where
Chesterfield County, Mc Bee to 5 mi NW of Mc Bee
Rating
F0
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
75 yd
Coordinates
34.480, -80.320

The F1 tornado that crossed over from Kershaw county diminished to an F0 tornado and only took down some trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clarendon

When
July 24, 6:15 PM EST
Where
Clarendon County, 1 mi S of Manning
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
33.680, -80.220

County sheriff reported some trees and transformers down on highway 301 along with many traffic accidents.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lexington

When
July 27, 3:28 PM EST
Where
Lexington County, Gaston
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
33.820, -81.100

Electric company reports powerlines down from thunderstorm winds.

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, Lexington1997-07-2332FemalePermanent HomeDirect

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 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Carolina, 1997Warnings in South Carolina, July 1997

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5602085, 5602086, 5602087, 5602088, 5602089, 5602090, 5602091, 5602092, 5602095, 5602093, 5602094.