Tornadoes · United States · South Carolina

Tornadoes in Newberry County, South Carolina

39 tornadoes have crossed Newberry County since 1950, 9th of the 46 counties in South Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 years. They have killed 3 people and injured 90. 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
3
Injuries
90
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, November 22, 1992

The deadliest in Newberry County

  1. F2, Newberry County, South CarolinaMarch 28, 19841 killed, 38 injured
  2. F3, Lincoln, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda and Newberry counties, Georgia and South CarolinaNovember 22, 19921 killed, 9 injured
  3. F3, Newberry County, South CarolinaDecember 13, 19731 killed, 5 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Lincoln, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda and Newberry counties, Georgia and South CarolinaNovember 22, 1992F3, 67.0 mi (108 km)
  2. EF3, Newberry and Richland counties, South CarolinaMarch 15, 2008EF3, 27.5 mi (44 km)
  3. F3, Newberry and Fairfield counties, South CarolinaMarch 28, 1984F3, 19.0 mi (31 km)
  4. F3, Greenwood and Newberry counties, South CarolinaDecember 13, 1973F3, 17.7 mi (28 km)
  5. F3, Newberry County, South CarolinaDecember 13, 1973F3, 17.3 mi (28 km)
  6. F2, Newberry, Fairfield and Richland counties, South CarolinaDecember 13, 1973F2, 30.5 mi (49 km)
  7. F2, Saluda and Newberry counties, South CarolinaNovember 22, 1992F2, 30.0 mi (48 km)
  8. F2, Newberry County, South CarolinaMarch 28, 1984F2, 23.0 mi (37 km)
  9. EF2, Saluda and Newberry counties, South CarolinaMay 24, 2017EF2, 12.1 mi (19 km)
  10. F2, Newberry County, South CarolinaMarch 30, 1960F2, 5.9 mi (9 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 22 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Newberry County. Each year links to every tornado in South Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20241EF0
20211EF1
20192EF1
20172EF2
20121EF0
20112EF1
200842EF3
20061F0
20053F1
20042F1
20022F1
19991F0
19953F0
19941F1
1992219F3
19881F0
19842148F3
19751F1
19734131F3
19691F1
19601F2
19571F1

Every tornado that crossed Newberry County

39 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 9, 20242:46 AM EDTEF0Newberry3.0150
August 17, 20213:49 PM EDTEF1Newberry2.0100
April 19, 20192:08 PM EDTEF0Newberry0.325
April 19, 20192:07 PM EDTEF1Newberry1.9200
October 8, 20174:20 PM EDTEF1Newberry2.650
May 24, 20173:04 PM EDTEF2Saluda12.1250
June 10, 20129:48 PM EDTEF0Newberry1.550$6,000
September 5, 20115:16 PM EDTEF0Newberry0.150
February 28, 20117:24 PM ESTEF1Newberry3.4100$120,000
December 11, 20081:26 PM ESTEF0Newberry3.540$4,000
April 4, 20088:42 PM EDTEF0Newberry4.660$10,000
March 15, 20084:25 PM EDTEF3Newberry27.51,3202$10,000
March 4, 20084:23 PM ESTEF1Newberry2.760
April 26, 20062:05 PM EDTF0Newberry8.060$70,000
July 3, 20054:20 PM EDTF1Newberry0.575$10,000
April 12, 20057:49 PM EDTF0Newberry0.260
January 13, 20057:46 PM ESTF0Newberry11.040
September 27, 20045:44 PM EDTF0Newberry3.0100
September 27, 20045:08 PM EDTF1Newberry3.0220
November 11, 20027:35 AM ESTF1Newberry1.2100$20,000
November 11, 20026:42 AM ESTF1Newberry1.5100
April 24, 19994:37 PM EDTF0Saluda9.0100
May 15, 19953:53 PM EDTF0Newberry0.130
January 14, 19957:29 AM ESTF0Newberry0.120
January 14, 19957:14 AM ESTF0Newberry0.140$500 to $5,000
August 16, 19941:32 PM EDTF1Newberry0.550
November 22, 19925:00 PM CSTF3Lincoln to SC67.040019$500,000 to $5 million
November 22, 19926:00 PM ESTF2Saluda30.0550$500,000 to $5 million
May 23, 19884:40 PM EDTF0Newberry0.570
March 28, 19845:45 PM ESTF3Newberry19.087010$500,000 to $5 million
March 28, 19845:20 PM ESTF2Newberry23.01,000138$5 million to $50 million
May 15, 19753:50 PM EDTF1Newberry0.110$5,000 to $50,000
December 13, 19735:45 PM ESTF2Newberry3.820$500 to $5,000
December 13, 19735:16 PM ESTF2Newberry30.580$500,000 to $5 million
December 13, 19734:03 PM ESTF3Newberry17.320015$500,000 to $5 million
December 13, 19733:25 PM ESTF3Greenwood17.715026$500,000 to $5 million
April 18, 19695:00 PM GMT-5F1Newberry2.083$500 to $5,000
March 30, 19608:06 PM GMT-5F2Newberry5.957$5,000 to $50,000
April 5, 19578:14 AM GMT-5F1Newberry3.3100$500 to $5,000

Nearby

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