South Carolina, 2000

Tornadoes and Lightning Strike in South Carolina, June 16, 2000

June 16, 2000 · NWS GSP · 4 events in 2 counties and zones

Thunderstorms developed across the Upstate during the early evening. One became severe in Oconee county and produced two brief small tornadoes.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$9,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

Thunderstorms developed across the Upstate during the early evening. One became severe in Oconee county and produced two brief small tornadoes. In Westminster, a small section of the roof of a store was torn off. Siding was blown off of one house and another house was damaged. Several trees and power lines were also downed in the same area. About 20 minutes later, the same storm spun up another weak tornado which downed trees on property in Tamassee. A trained spotter observed a funnel cloud nine minutes prior west of Walhalla. Late in the evening lightning caused a fire which burned down a garage in Ninety-Six.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Oconee

When
June 16, 7:23 PM EST
Where
Oconee County, Westminster
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.667, -83.100

Funnel Cloud, Oconee

When
June 16, 7:35 PM EST
Where
Oconee County, 1 mi W of Walhalla
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
34.754, -83.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Oconee

When
June 16, 7:44 PM EST
Where
Oconee County, Tamassee
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
34.867, -83.033

Lightning, Greenwood

When
June 16, 10:00 PM EST
Where
Greenwood County, Ninety Six
Property damage
$4,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
34.154, -82.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Carolina, 2000Warnings in South Carolina, June 2000

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: 5154401, 5154404, 5154402, 5154403.