Tornadoes · United States · South Carolina

Tornadoes in Greenville County, South Carolina

39 tornadoes have crossed Greenville County since 1950, 8th of the 46 counties in South Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 years. They have killed 2 people and injured 64. 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
39
Deaths
2
Injuries
64
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 10, 1952

The deadliest in Greenville County

  1. F3, Greenville and Spartanburg counties, South CarolinaMay 10, 19522 killed, 4 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee and Cleveland counties, South Carolina and North CarolinaMay 27, 1973F3, 60.2 mi (97 km)
  2. F3, Greenville and Spartanburg counties, South CarolinaMay 10, 1952F3, 22.7 mi (37 km)
  3. F2, Anderson and Greenville counties, South CarolinaApril 13, 1980F2, 33.4 mi (54 km)
  4. F2, Pickens and Greenville counties, South CarolinaMay 27, 1973F2, 23.6 mi (38 km)
  5. F2, Pickens and Greenville counties, South CarolinaMarch 31, 1973F2, 12.4 mi (20 km)
  6. EF2, Pickens and Greenville counties, South CarolinaApril 13, 2020EF2, 8.0 mi (13 km)
  7. EF2, Greenville County, South CarolinaApril 25, 2020EF2, 5.5 mi (9 km)
  8. F2, Greenville and Anderson counties, South CarolinaApril 4, 1989F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  9. F2, Greenville County, South CarolinaMay 2, 1967F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  10. F2, Greenville County, South CarolinaMarch 23, 1979F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 26 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Greenville County. Each year links to every tornado in South Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20241EF0
20211EF1
202038EF2
20192EF1
20172EF1
20161EF1
20141EF0
20131EF0
20111EF0
20101EF0
20081EF1
20022F1
19961F0
19952F0
19942F1
19901F0
19891F2
198015F2
197912F2
197515F1
1973440F3
19692F0
19672F2
19642F1
19591F0
1952124F3

Every tornado that crossed Greenville County

39 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 25, 20246:39 PM EDTEF0Greenville0.250$5,000
August 17, 20212:53 PM EDTEF1Greenville2.475$100,000
April 25, 20209:10 PM EDTEF2Greenville5.5400$5.0 million
April 13, 20204:01 AM EDTEF0Greenville0.730$20,000
April 13, 20203:41 AM EDTEF2Pickens8.02008$300,000
April 14, 201910:03 PM EDTEF1Greenville6.9100$150,000
April 14, 20198:51 PM EDTEF1Greenville1.6200
October 8, 20175:37 PM EDTEF1Greenville1.4200$50,000
April 3, 20172:13 PM EDTEF0Greenville2.850$50,000
November 30, 20164:41 PM ESTEF1Greenville16.4150$500,000
October 14, 20148:00 PM EDTEF0Greenville1.050$1,000
June 10, 20131:20 PM EDTEF0Greenville1.380$5,000
February 28, 20115:02 PM ESTEF0Greenville1.550
October 26, 20107:17 PM EDTEF0Greenville4.740
August 26, 20084:05 PM EDTEF1Greenville6.130$50,000
November 11, 20025:30 AM ESTF1Greenville4.0100$250,000
November 11, 20025:22 AM ESTF0Anderson6.050$2,000
September 16, 19965:03 PM EDTF0Greenville2.0220$10,000
October 5, 19953:35 AM EDTF0Greenville3.0440$50,000 to $500,000
March 8, 199510:53 AM ESTF0Greenville0.110
March 27, 199412:50 AM ESTF0Greenville0.130$500 to $5,000
March 27, 19944:40 PM ESTF1Greenville18.050$500 to $5,000
February 10, 19908:00 AM ESTF0Greenville3.080$50,000 to $500,000
April 4, 19894:50 PM EDTF2Greenville5.073$50,000 to $500,000
April 13, 19806:50 PM ESTF2Anderson33.42005$500,000 to $5 million
March 23, 19794:30 PM ESTF2Greenville0.1772$500,000 to $5 million
March 24, 197511:25 AM EDTF1Pickens10.62005under $50
May 28, 19735:30 PM EDTF1Greenville0.590$500 to $5,000
May 27, 197311:00 PM EDTF2Pickens23.6150$5,000 to $50,000
May 27, 19736:20 PM CDTF3Greenville to NC60.215040$500,000 to $5 million
March 31, 19738:00 PM ESTF2Pickens12.4100$5,000 to $50,000
August 15, 19694:26 PM GMT-4F0Greenville0.110under $50
August 15, 19694:19 PM GMT-4F0Greenville0.110under $50
July 12, 19677:00 PM GMT-4F0Greenville0.127$5,000 to $50,000
May 2, 19678:10 PM GMT-4F2Greenville1.067$5,000 to $50,000
December 24, 196412:30 AM GMT-5F0Greenville0.217under $50
June 21, 196411:30 PM GMT-4F1Greenville0.627$5,000 to $50,000
September 6, 19593:45 PM GMT-4F0Greenville0.110
May 10, 19524:00 PM GMT-4F3Greenville22.78324under $50

Nearby

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