South Carolina, 2020

Tornado in South Carolina, December 24, 2020

December 24, 2020 · NWS CAE · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A band of thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front and produced a weak brief tornado in Clarendon Co SC.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 CAE wrote it up.

A band of thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front and produced a weak brief tornado in Clarendon Co SC.

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:31 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Clarendon

When
December 24, 7:30 PM EST to 7:31 PM EST
Where
Clarendon County, 2.01 mi SE of Bloomville to 2.09 mi ESE of Bloomville
Rating
EF1
Path length
0.32 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates
33.611, -80.144

A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed a weak EF-1 tornado, with|estimated maximum wind speeds around 90 mph, near Baggette Crossroads in|Clarendon County, SC. The brief tornado, lasting approximately one minute, began in a|field of pine trees east of Bloomville Road where it snapped and uprooted numerous|pine trees. The tornado then moved northeast causing damage to Holly Hill Missionary|Baptist Church on Hidden Branch Drive. Thin metal roofing was torn off part of the|church and the wall on the east side of the fellowship hall collapsed. More pine tree|trunks were snapped as the tornado crossed Hidden Branch Drive, with the tornado|eventually dissipating before reaching Brewer Road. Debris from the church was carried |approximately 0.6 miles. Clarendon County Emergency Services conducted an initial|survey of the damage and provided pictures.

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Carolina, 2020Warnings in South Carolina, December 2020

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 932733.