Tornadoes · United States · South Carolina

Tornadoes in Edgefield County, South Carolina

21 tornadoes have crossed Edgefield County since 1950, 33rd of the 46 counties in South Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.6 years. They have killed 2 people and injured 33. 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
21
Deaths
2
Injuries
33
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 7, 1998

The deadliest in Edgefield County

  1. F3, Edgefield County, South CarolinaMay 7, 19981 killed, 9 injured
  2. F3, Lincoln, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda and Newberry counties, Georgia and South CarolinaNovember 22, 19921 killed, 9 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Lincoln, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda and Newberry counties, Georgia and South CarolinaNovember 22, 1992F3, 67.0 mi (108 km)
  2. F3, Edgefield County, South CarolinaMay 7, 1998F3, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  3. F3, Edgefield County, South CarolinaMay 7, 1998F3, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  4. EF2, McCormick, Edgefield and Saluda counties, South CarolinaMarch 15, 2008EF2, 32.7 mi (53 km)
  5. EF2, Edgefield and Saluda counties, South CarolinaApril 5, 2017EF2, 7.2 mi (12 km)
  6. F2, Edgefield County, South CarolinaMay 7, 1998F2, 6.0 mi (10 km)
  7. EF2, Edgefield County, South CarolinaMarch 3, 2019EF2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  8. EF2, Edgefield County, South CarolinaMarch 28, 2010EF2, 2.4 mi (4 km)
  9. F2, Edgefield County, South CarolinaNovember 12, 1975F2, 0.7 mi (1 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 14 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Edgefield County. Each year links to every tornado in South Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20211EF0
201917EF2
201711EF2
20151EF0
20102EF2
20083EF2
20071EF1
20031F1
19991F0
19984111F3
1992219F3
19781F1
197514F2
197411F1

Every tornado that crossed Edgefield County

21 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than South Carolina.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 17, 20211:03 PM EDTEF0Edgefield1.5100
March 3, 20195:53 PM ESTEF2Edgefield5.02007
April 5, 20171:17 PM EDTEF2Edgefield7.21,0001
April 19, 20154:21 PM EDTEF0Edgefield2.950$5,000
March 28, 201010:24 PM EDTEF2Edgefield2.4440$250,000
March 28, 20105:06 PM EDTEF1Edgefield13.3110
May 11, 20084:09 AM EDTEF0Edgefield4.080
March 15, 20086:11 PM EDTEF0Edgefield3.7220
March 15, 20085:02 PM EDTEF2McCormick32.7660
February 13, 20075:55 PM ESTEF1Edgefield15.360
May 5, 20031:34 AM EDTF1Edgefield3.0150
June 15, 199911:20 PM EDTF0Edgefield0.530$1,000
June 4, 19983:43 PM EDTF0Edgefield0.250
May 7, 19988:15 PM EDTF3Edgefield12.088019$1.0 million
May 7, 19987:47 PM EDTF2Edgefield6.04402$500,000
May 7, 19987:15 PM EDTF3Edgefield5.0880$300,000
November 22, 19925:00 PM CSTF3Lincoln to SC67.040019$500,000 to $5 million
June 21, 19923:00 PM EDTF1McCormick22.0100
May 8, 19788:15 PM CDTF1Columbia to SC38.6100$500,000 to $5 million
November 12, 19755:30 PM ESTF2Edgefield0.7504$50,000 to $500,000
March 21, 19747:55 AM EDTF1Edgefield1.0501$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Edgefield CountyThe forecast for Edgefield CountyThe live radar over Edgefield 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.