EF2 tornado in Aiken County, South Carolina

The National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF2 tornado from northern

Aiken County into southern Lexington County. The peak wind associated with the tornado was 130 mph.

The tornado touched down in Aiken Co near the intersection of Holder Rd and

Huckleberry Finn Rd. The tornado move quickly to the northeast crossing Holder Rd

and along Fishhook Ln. The tornado crossed into Lexington Co then dissipated in Lexington Co.

While in Aiken Co, the tornado produced a path of downed branches, uprooted trees

and snapped trees. The most significant damage occurred along Holder Rd and

Fishhook Ln. The tornado damaged 3 homes and downed power lines in the area. A

small wooden home lost a portion of it's metal roof. A home was partially pushed off its

foundation. Some of the supporting piers collapsed and the home had signs of buckling

along the side and rear walls. This home is where the one injury (male, age unknown)

occurred, as the roof partially collapsed. The third home was damaged when a tree fell

on the roof. There were numerous downed, uprooted and snapped trees around the 3

homes. The area was initially inaccessible until county clean up crews arrived.

The tornado continued northeast along Fishhook Ln where significant tree damage

occurred. There were numerous large hardwood and softwood trees that were snapped

at the end of Fishhook Ln. A small metal shed was destroyed. A rusted antique car was

moved approximately 50 feet where it had resided in the shed. A car engine was

moved approximately 35 feet from where it resided in the shed. The home on the

property had a couple of small areas of damage where the wooden siding was

removed.

The tornado continued northeast and crossed into Lexington Co through the swampy

area at the headwaters of the North Fork of the Edisto River that includes Shirley

Branch and Chinquapin Creek.

An upper level disturbance and the interaction of surface boundaries, along with increasing moisture, led to thunderstorms that developed and moved east across the region during the afternoon. Sufficient atmospheric instability and shear led some of the thunderstorms to produce damaging wind and tornadoes, along with locally heavy rain.