Tornadoes · United States · South Carolina

1995 tornadoes in South Carolina

54 tornadoes touched down in South Carolina in 1995, 237 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1994 1996 The whole country in 1995

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in South Carolina in 1995

January 6 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 69:10 PM ESTF1Richland3.0100$5,000 to $50,000
January 69:14 PM ESTF1Fairfield0.2100$50,000 to $500,000

January 14 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 147:14 AM ESTF0Newberry0.140$500 to $5,000
January 147:29 AM ESTF0Newberry0.120
January 148:25 AM ESTF0Orangeburg0.120$500 to $5,000
January 148:30 AM ESTF1Oconee1.030$500 to $5,000
January 1410:56 AM ESTF1Lexington1.073$5,000 to $50,000

March 8 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 810:53 AM ESTF0Greenville0.110
March 811:35 AM ESTF1Greenwood1.030$50,000 to $500,000

May 1 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 16:30 PM EDTF0Pickens1.030$500 to $5,000
May 18:25 PM EDTF0Cherokee9.050$50,000 to $500,000
May 19:03 PM EDTF0York1.050$50,000 to $500,000
May 111:05 PM EDTF0Chester0.220$500 to $5,000

May 15 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 153:53 PM EDTF0Newberry0.130
May 156:00 PM EDTF0Berkeley0.230$500 to $5,000

June 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 511:05 AM EDTF1Beaufort3.040$50,000 to $500,000

June 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 127:10 PM EDTF1Beaufort7.01301$50,000 to $500,000

June 27 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 277:33 PM EDTF0Clarendon0.130$5,000 to $50,000

July 6 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 65:05 PM EDTF0Darlington0.110

October 5 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 53:35 AM EDTF0Greenville3.0440$50,000 to $500,000
October 55:40 AM EDTF0Chesterfield0.150

October 27 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 276:45 PM EDTF0Richland0.150
October 2712:05 AM EDTF1Marion3.040

November 2 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 23:45 PM ESTF3Lexington1.5250$50,000 to $500,000
November 24:02 PM ESTF2Calhoun1.0200
November 24:43 PM ESTF0Clarendon0.150

November 7 28 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 72:00 PM ESTF0McCormick7.0100$5,000 to $50,000
November 72:53 PM ESTF2Aiken1.52501$50,000 to $500,000
November 73:15 PM ESTF0Lexington0.150
November 73:16 PM ESTF0Aiken0.550
November 73:21 PM ESTF0Richland0.150
November 73:23 PM ESTF0Lexington0.150
November 73:30 PM ESTF1Lexington3.0250
November 73:33 PM ESTF0Orangeburg0.150$5,000 to $50,000
November 73:37 PM ESTF1Orangeburg3.02503$50,000 to $500,000
November 74:00 PM ESTF2Calhoun1.5250$50,000 to $500,000
November 74:08 PM ESTF0Chesterfield0.250
November 74:15 PM ESTF1Darlington3.040$50,000 to $500,000
November 74:20 PM ESTF1Georgetown0.1201$5,000 to $50,000
November 74:25 PM ESTF1Georgetown0.120$5,000 to $50,000
November 74:30 PM ESTF0Clarendon0.270
November 74:35 PM ESTF0Clarendon0.150
November 74:38 PM ESTF2Florence0.5404$50,000 to $500,000
November 74:45 PM ESTF0Berkeley1.533$5,000 to $50,000
November 74:45 PM ESTF0Charleston0.523
November 74:47 PM ESTF0Colleton1.030$500 to $5,000
November 74:49 PM ESTF4Marion0.71001$500,000 to $5 million
November 74:55 PM ESTF0Dillon0.130$500 to $5,000
November 75:10 PM ESTF0Williamsburg0.320$5,000 to $50,000
November 75:14 PM ESTF1Beaufort2.060$50,000 to $500,000
November 75:15 PM ESTF1Williamsburg0.22011$50,000 to $500,000
November 75:15 PM ESTF1Williamsburg0.2201$50,000 to $500,000
November 75:17 PM ESTF2Horry5.0100$500,000 to $5 million
November 75:20 PM ESTF0Beaufort0.330$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Every tornado in South Carolina since 1950Warnings in force in South CarolinaThe live radar over South Carolina

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.