Tornadoes · United States · South Carolina · 2006

F0 tornado, Wando, South Carolina, April 8, 2006

This F0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Berkeley County on April 8, 2006, touching down at 4:23 PM EDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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 mphthis tornado

    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.

The record

Rating
F0
Date
April 8, 2006
Touchdown
4:23 PM EDT (20:23 UTC)
Path length
0.2 miles (0.3 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Berkeley County
Touchdown point
32.830, -79.900
Lift-off point
32.830, -79.880
Record number
349

What the Weather Service recorded

A weak tornado touched down on Daniel Island just north of the intersection of Island Park Drive and and River Landing Drive and moved east lifting just past the Family Circle Tennis Center. The tornado broke out the door of a business and uprooted several trees along the path. Two large banners were severely damaged, two heavy duty tents were toppled, a metal support beam for one of the tents was snapped, a panel of the tennis scoreboard was damaged, and a temporary light display fell onto a vehicle at the Family Circle Tennis Center.

A weak tornado tracked across the Cooper River from Charleston county into Daniel Island before dissipating. Damage was limited to trees knocked down along the river.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:37 UTC and running to 22:44 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
17:37 UTC22:44 UTCTornado WatchCHS
18:25 UTC19:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHS
20:13 UTC20:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHS
20:29 UTC21:15 UTCTornado WarningCHS

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:42 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), 12:00Z

8.4 hours before the tornado, 13 km from the path. April 8, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2006-04-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 516 joules per kilogram, CIN -106, lifted condensation level 873 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2006-04-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 73 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 45 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
516 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-106 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
873 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4
0-3 km lapse rate
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), 00:00Z

3.6 hours after it, 13 km from the path. April 9, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 2006-04-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -18870, lifted condensation level 927 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 2006-04-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 21 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 35 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18870 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
927 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
18:35 UTCHAIL 0.5DorchesterDorchester, SC1/2 INCH HAIL REPORTED IN TOWN OF DORCHESTER
18:57 UTCHAIL 1CottagevilleColleton, SCQUARTER INCH HAIL REPORTED IN COTTAGEVILLE.
19:10 UTCHAIL 0.88Bonneau BeachBerkeley, SCNICKEL SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN BONNEAU BEACH.
19:30 UTCHAIL 0.25Moncks CornerBerkeley, SCDIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED NORTH OF MONKS CORNER AT SHORT STAY CAMP GROUND EAST OF THE LAKE MOULTRIE DAM.
19:35 UTCHAIL 1DorchesterDorchester, SCLARGE BRANCHES ALSO ON HIGHWAY 78 BETWEEN SAINT GEORGE AND DORCHESTER.
19:36 UTCHAIL 0.25DorchesterDorchester, SCDIME TO QUARTER INCH SIZE HAIL REPORTED AT CRESTWOOD SUBDIVISION AT BACON BRIDGE ROAD.
19:43 UTCHAIL 0.884 S JacksonboroColleton, SCREPORTS OF NICKEL SIZE HAIL AT THE LAVINGTON PLANTATION OFF HIGHWAY 17.
19:44 UTCHAIL 0.5JacksonboroColleton, SC
19:50 UTCHAIL 0.75Parkers FerryCharleston, SCPENNY SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED AT PARKERS FERRY IN CHARLESTON COUNTY.
19:53 UTCTORNADOAdams RunCharleston, SC*** 1 INJ *** PRELIM F1 TORNADO. FIRST TOUCHDOWN AT TOOGOODOO ROAD AND CROSSED 171. PARTIALLY COLLAPSED STRUCTURE NEAR MINNIE HUGHES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WHERE INJURY OCCURRED. TORNADO HAD A PATH LENGTH OF SEVERAL MILES WHI
20:00 UTCHAIL 0.5RavenelCharleston, SC1/2 INCH HAIL REPORTED IN RAVENEL.
20:00 UTCHAIL 0.5RavenelCharleston, SC1/2 INCH HAIL WAS REPORTED IN RAVENEL.
20:00 UTCHAIL 12 N Adams RunCharleston, SCNICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED AT FIRE STATION OFF HIGHWAY 171 NORTH OF ADAMS RUN.
20:03 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDHollywoodCharleston, SCPILOT REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUD MOVING DOWN TOOGOODOO RIVER. RELAYED THROUGH COUNTY DISPATCH.
20:07 UTCHAIL 0.75RavenelCharleston, SCJUST BEGAN.
20:11 UTCHAIL 0.25North CharlestonCharleston, SC
20:11 UTCHAIL 1LadsonCharleston, SC
20:12 UTCHAIL 0.75OakbrookDorchester, SC
20:12 UTCHAIL 1LadsonCharleston, SCDIME TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN LADSON.
20:13 UTCHAIL 0.75Johns IslandCharleston, SCPENNY SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN JOHNS ISLAND.
20:15 UTCHAIL 0.75KnightsvilleDorchester, SC
20:15 UTCHAIL 0.75SummervilleDorchester, SCOBSERVED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF DORCHESTER ROAD AND LADSON ROAD.
20:15 UTCHAIL 1OakbrookDorchester, SCREPORTED IN THE CRESTWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR BACONS BRIDGE ROAD.
20:16 UTCHAIL 1West AshleyCharleston, SCCOMING DOWN IN TORRENTS...COVERING THE GROUND.
20:17 UTCHAIL 0.75West AshleyCharleston, SC
20:17 UTCHAIL 0.88West AshleyCharleston, SC
20:20 UTCHAIL 0.5West AshleyCharleston, SC
20:20 UTCHAIL 0.75North CharlestonCharleston, SC
20:20 UTCHAIL 1.53 N Daniel IslandBerkeley, SCREPORTED IN THE SAINT THOMAS SUBDIVISION. RELAYED BY WCBD.
20:20 UTCTORNADO 04 Nnw CharlestonCharleston, SCFOURTH TORNADO PATH FOUND IN CHARLESTON COUNTY. THIS TORNADO IMPACTED THE NECK AREA OF THE CHARLESTON PENINSULA. INITIAL TOUCHDOWN WAS NEAR THE DOLPHIN MARINA OFF AUSTIN AVE...MOVED ACROSS I-26 AND MEETING STREET NEAR TH
20:22 UTCTORNADOWest AshleyCharleston, SCROPE TORNADO RATED AS F0 TOUCHED DOWN BEHIND FIRST FEDERAL BANK NEAR COBURG ROAD AND THEN CROSSED U.S. 17 BEFORE LIFTING. PATH LENGTH OF 2 TO 3 HUNDRED YARDS. WINDOWS BLOWN OUT OF BUILDINGS WITH OTHER MINOR DAMAGE TO BUS
20:27 UTCHAIL 0.53 N Daniel IslandBerkeley, SC
20:32 UTCHAIL 1Mount PleasantCharleston, SCHAIL COVERS THE GROUND.
20:35 UTCHAIL 1.75Daniel IslandBerkeley, SCGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL REPORT PASSED ALONG TO NWS SURVEY PERSONNEL.
20:35 UTCTORNADODaniel IslandBerkeley, SCPRELIM SURVEY REPORT OF F0 TORNADO PATH 4/10 MILES LONG AND 50 YARDS WIDE. TORNADO HIT THE FAMILY CIRCLE CUP TENNIS FACILITY AND DAMAGED BANNERS AND SCOREBOARD. LARGE TENTS BLOWN DOWN AND TREES UPROOTED. ONE BUSINESS HAD
20:40 UTCHAIL 0.75AwendawCharleston, SCREPORTED BY AWENDAW FIRE STATION NUMBER 2.
20:45 UTCHAIL 16 Ne Mount PleasantCharleston, SCNICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN DUNES WEST. SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF HAIL REPORTED.
20:45 UTCHAIL 1.56 Ne Mount PleasantCharleston, SCPING PONG SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC IN DUNES WEST.
20:47 UTCHAIL 0.88AwendawCharleston, SCNICKEL SIZE HAIL REPORTED ALONG CAUSEY POND ROAD.
20:55 UTCHAIL 0.25McclellanvilleCharleston, SC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2006 tornado in South CarolinaEvery tornado in South Carolina since 1950Warnings in force in South Carolina nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 8, 2006

12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 81:16 AM CDTF1Jefferson, AL2.31001$500,000
April 81:23 AM CDTF1Jefferson, AL3.2100$300,000
April 81:52 AM CDTF1Calhoun, AL0.8120$10,000
April 83:20 AM EDTF0Polk, GA5.01001$350,000
April 83:30 AM EDTF2Polk, GA3.01001$450,000
April 83:50 AM EDTF0Cobb, GA2.550$150,000
April 83:55 AM EDTF1Cobb, GA18.0200$7.5 million
April 83:03 AM CDTF0Talladega, AL0.6100$30,000
April 85:09 AM EDTF0Banks, GA0.2100$350,000
April 83:53 PM EDTF1Charleston, SC4.51001
April 84:20 PM EDTF0Charleston, SC2.650
April 84:25 PM EDTF0Charleston, SC0.250

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.