Tornadoes · United States · South Carolina

Tornadoes in Saluda County, South Carolina

17 tornadoes have crossed Saluda County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 37th of the 46 counties in South Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 4.5 years. They have killed 3 people and injured 21. 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
17
Deaths
3
Injuries
21
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, November 22, 1992

The deadliest in Saluda County

  1. F2, Saluda County, South CarolinaMarch 13, 19552 killed, 10 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. EF2, McCormick, Edgefield and Saluda counties, South CarolinaMarch 15, 2008EF2, 32.7 mi (53 km)
  3. F2, Saluda and Newberry counties, South CarolinaNovember 22, 1992F2, 30.0 mi (48 km)
  4. EF2, Saluda and Newberry counties, South CarolinaMay 24, 2017EF2, 12.1 mi (19 km)
  5. F2, Saluda County, South CarolinaMarch 13, 1955F2, 9.9 mi (16 km)
  6. EF2, Edgefield and Saluda counties, South CarolinaApril 5, 2017EF2, 7.2 mi (12 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 11 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Saluda County. Each year links to every tornado in South Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20242EF1
20211EF0
201731EF2
20081EF2
200421F1
20031F0
19991F0
19982F1
1992219F3
19551210F2

Every tornado that crossed Saluda County

17 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. 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, 20269:18 AM EDTEF0Saluda0.5100
January 27, 20248:22 PM ESTEF0Saluda1.3100
January 27, 20248:18 PM ESTEF1Saluda1.6150
August 17, 20218:47 PM EDTEF0Saluda0.125
May 24, 20173:04 PM EDTEF2Saluda12.1250
May 24, 20172:40 PM EDTEF1Saluda2.975
April 5, 20171:17 PM EDTEF2Edgefield7.21,0001
March 15, 20085:02 PM EDTEF2McCormick32.7660
September 27, 20044:39 PM EDTF0Saluda2.080
September 16, 20044:00 PM EDTF1Saluda6.04001
May 5, 20031:45 AM EDTF0Saluda0.130
April 24, 19994:37 PM EDTF0Saluda9.0100
June 2, 199811:28 AM EDTF0Saluda0.340
May 7, 19988:12 PM EDTF1Saluda1.5150$50,000
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
March 13, 195510:00 PM GMT-5F2Saluda9.9133210$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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