Tornadoes · United States · South Carolina

Tornadoes in Aiken County, South Carolina

44 tornadoes have crossed Aiken County since 1950, 6th of the 46 counties in South Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.7 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 23. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
44
Deaths
0
Injuries
23
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, April 13, 2020

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 27 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Aiken County. Each year links to every tornado in South Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251EF1
20231EF0
202211EF2
20202EF3
20191EF1
20172EF1
20151EF2
20121EF2
20111EF0
2009114EF3
20086EF2
20071EF0
20044F0
20031F1
20002F0
19981F0
19961F0
199521F2
19921F0
19914F2
19831F1
19781F1
19771F1
19762F1
19751F2
19651F0
196127F1

Every tornado that crossed Aiken County

44 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than South Carolina.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 12, 20253:24 AM EDTEF1Aiken1.3250
January 4, 202310:27 AM ESTEF0Aiken3.575
April 5, 20225:35 PM EDTEF2Lexington5.71001
April 13, 20205:21 AM EDTEF3Barnwell37.9800
February 6, 20202:52 PM ESTEF1Aiken1.175
March 3, 20196:30 PM ESTEF1Aiken0.4150$2,000
April 3, 20174:14 PM EDTEF1Aiken0.9100
April 3, 20174:08 PM EDTEF0Aiken0.125
April 19, 20154:10 PM EDTEF2Aiken19.5660
February 24, 20121:07 PM ESTEF2Lexington9.2150$300,000
November 16, 20115:53 PM ESTEF0Aiken7.470$20,000
April 10, 200910:57 PM EDTEF3Aiken14.688014$5.0 million
May 11, 20086:07 AM EDTEF0Aiken7.850
May 11, 20085:28 AM EDTEF0Aiken1.050
May 11, 20084:31 AM EDTEF0Aiken3.560
March 15, 20086:18 PM EDTEF2Aiken25.51,760
March 15, 20085:37 PM EDTEF0Aiken0.5100
March 4, 20087:19 PM ESTEF0Aiken20.160
March 2, 20072:20 AM ESTEF0Aiken4.980
November 24, 20043:03 PM ESTF0Aiken0.580
September 27, 20041:39 PM EDTF0Aiken3.0100
September 16, 20042:56 PM EDTF0Aiken6.075
September 7, 20047:14 AM EDTF0Aiken0.5100
May 6, 20032:30 AM EDTF1Aiken2.0150$10,000
September 25, 20008:35 PM EDTF0Aiken0.340
February 14, 20005:10 AM ESTF0Aiken0.250
May 7, 19988:45 PM EDTF0Aiken3.0100
May 7, 19967:45 PM EDTF0Aiken0.130
November 7, 19953:16 PM ESTF0Aiken0.550
November 7, 19952:53 PM ESTF2Aiken1.52501$50,000 to $500,000
February 25, 19928:15 PM ESTF0Aiken1.050$5,000 to $50,000
March 29, 19911:22 PM ESTF2Aiken0.210
March 3, 19913:00 PM ESTF2Aiken5.0200
March 3, 19913:00 PM ESTF2Aiken6.0300
March 1, 19919:15 PM ESTF2Aiken1.5150
April 23, 19838:15 PM ESTF1Aiken6.0100$50,000 to $500,000
May 8, 19788:15 PM CDTF1Columbia to SC38.6100$500,000 to $5 million
February 24, 19776:20 AM ESTF1Aiken0.160$500 to $5,000
May 28, 19767:00 PM EDTF1Aiken0.5100$500 to $5,000
May 28, 19763:30 PM EDTF1Aiken4.133$5,000 to $50,000
September 17, 19754:30 PM EDTF2Aiken1.037$50,000 to $500,000
August 25, 19657:00 PM GMT-4F0Aiken0.110under $50
February 24, 19617:00 PM GMT-5F1Aiken0.5502$500 to $5,000
February 24, 19616:30 PM GMT-5F1Aiken0.5605$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Aiken CountyThe forecast for Aiken CountyThe live radar over Aiken CountyEvery county in 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.