Tornadoes · United States · South Carolina

Tornadoes in Richland County, South Carolina

44 tornadoes have crossed Richland County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 5th of the 46 counties in South Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.7 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 24. 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
1
Injuries
24
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, March 15, 2008

The deadliest in Richland County

  1. F2, Richland County, South CarolinaMay 15, 19761 killed, 3 injured

The strongest

  1. EF3, Newberry and Richland counties, South CarolinaMarch 15, 2008EF3, 27.5 mi (44 km)
  2. F2, Newberry, Fairfield and Richland counties, South CarolinaDecember 13, 1973F2, 30.5 mi (49 km)
  3. F2, Richland County, South CarolinaMay 15, 1976F2, 3.8 mi (6 km)
  4. F2, Richland County, South CarolinaSeptember 7, 2004F2, 2.5 mi (4 km)
  5. F2, Richland County, South CarolinaJuly 3, 1964F2, 2.5 mi (4 km)
  6. F2, Richland County, South CarolinaNovember 12, 1975F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  7. F2, Richland County, South CarolinaAugust 29, 1964F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  8. F2, Richland County, South CarolinaMay 29, 1967F2, 0.5 mi (1 km)
  9. F2, Richland County, South CarolinaAugust 31, 1987F2, 0.2 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 28 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Richland County. Each year links to every tornado in South Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20242EF1
20202EF1
20192EF1
20181EF0
20121EF0
200822EF3
20062F0
200433F2
20012F0
20002F0
199721F1
19953F1
19942F1
19891F0
198712F2
19812F1
19801F1
19771F1
1976113F2
197517F2
19731F2
197213F1
19711F1
196723F2
19651F0
19642F2
19551F0

Every tornado that crossed Richland County

44 tornadoes, newest first. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 12, 20269:52 AM EDTEF0Richland2.1100
December 29, 20248:35 AM ESTEF0Fairfield11.2150
January 27, 20243:48 PM ESTEF1Richland0.990
September 17, 20207:58 AM EDTUnratedCalhoun6.9150
April 13, 20205:53 AM EDTEF1Richland4.980
March 3, 20197:33 PM ESTEF1Richland0.6200
March 3, 20197:13 PM ESTEF1Richland1.5150
October 11, 20184:22 AM EDTEF0Richland6.050
March 3, 20125:35 AM ESTEF0Richland2.580$30,000
March 15, 20085:43 PM EDTEF1Richland3.7660
March 15, 20084:25 PM EDTEF3Newberry27.51,3202$10,000
February 4, 200611:43 AM ESTF0Fairfield5.060
January 13, 20065:18 PM ESTF0Lexington0.240
September 7, 20046:17 AM EDTF0Richland0.5100
September 7, 20045:25 AM EDTF1Richland1.0200$300,000
September 7, 20044:46 AM EDTF2Richland2.54403$100,000
June 13, 20012:22 PM EDTF0Richland0.140
March 29, 20014:12 PM ESTF0Richland5.030
March 16, 20005:52 PM ESTF0Richland0.250
March 16, 20003:30 PM ESTF0Richland0.3100
July 23, 199712:32 AM EDTF0Richland1.573
July 23, 199712:14 AM EDTF1Richland3.01001$210,000
November 7, 19953:21 PM ESTF0Richland0.150
October 27, 19956:45 PM EDTF0Richland0.150
January 6, 19959:10 PM ESTF1Richland3.0100$5,000 to $50,000
August 16, 19941:30 PM EDTF0Richland2.050
August 16, 19941:18 PM EDTF1Richland1.073
June 16, 19894:00 PM EDTF0Richland0.520
August 31, 19874:15 PM EDTF2Richland0.2102$50,000 to $500,000
April 20, 19814:05 PM ESTF1Richland0.320$50 to $500
February 11, 19811:00 AM ESTF1Richland0.833$5,000 to $50,000
May 20, 198012:10 PM EDTF1Richland5.760$50,000 to $500,000
June 19, 197710:00 PM EDTF1Richland0.330$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 19763:30 AM EDTF2Richland3.84013$50,000 to $500,000
November 12, 19758:15 PM ESTF2Richland2.0507$50,000 to $500,000
December 13, 19735:16 PM ESTF2Newberry30.580$500,000 to $5 million
January 10, 19723:05 PM ESTF1Lexington6.0773$50,000 to $500,000
May 12, 19715:30 PM EDTF1Richland0.330under $50
November 24, 19677:10 PM GMT-5F1Richland1.040$50,000 to $500,000
May 29, 19678:00 PM GMT-4F2Richland0.5203$5,000 to $50,000
March 26, 196510:15 AM GMT-5F0Richland0.113
August 29, 19645:15 PM GMT-4F2Richland1.067$50,000 to $500,000
July 3, 19643:25 AM GMT-4F2Richland2.5100$5,000 to $50,000
June 11, 195512:30 PM GMT-4F0Richland0.850$500 to $5,000

Nearby

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