F2 tornado — Chester County, South Carolina

F2 tornado in Chester County, South Carolina

Tornado April 16, 1994 · Chester County, South Carolina

Rating

3.0 mi

Path length

75 yd

Path width

Death

Injuries

$5.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A short-lived, but intense, mesocyclone developed along a squall line ahead of a cold front at about 0045 EST and moved into western Chester County. The mesocyclone intensified within a matter of 10 to 20 minutes into a F2 tornado that touched down four miles southwest of Lowrys and moved four miles to near Lowrys before dissipating. Three mobile homes completely disintegrated, three barns crushed, a new pickup truck was completely destoyed, four mobile homes were damaged, four people were injured (one seriously) and another killed. More than 2000 residents lost electrical power due to the tornado. F64M.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 10347036. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F2 tornado in Chester County, South Carolina

What the National Weather Service wrote

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