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EF1 tornado in Laurens County, South Carolina

Tornado March 3, 2023 · Laurens County, South Carolina

EF1
Rating
21.3 mi
Whole path
50 yd
Path width
$50K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Laurens County → Spartanburg County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

NWS storm survey determined that a tornado touched down in northwest Laurens County, just west of Fairview Rd and traveled east/northeast toward Barnyard Rd. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted along this segment of the path, and a couple of large trees fell on and damaged a home on Barnyard Ct. The tornado continued E/NE, downing additional trees as it crossed Deck Rd and Greenpond Rd. The path became more intermittent at that point until it approached the town of Gray Court, where tree damage again became more concentrated. The tornado continued E/NE of Gray Court, mostly remaining to the south of, but roughly paralleling Highway 92 until crossing Highway 221. The tornado then crossed the Enoree River into Spartanburg County about 1.5 miles southeast of the town of Enoree. Dozens of large trees were snapped or uprooted in the area between Gray Court and the county line.

The wider storm

Multiple lines and clusters of thunderstorms moved into upstate South Carolina during the late afternoon and evening ahead of a cold front. Multiple reports of wind damage were received across the Piedmont and foothills. Meanwhile, a weak tornado tracked across northern Laurens County into far southern Spartanburg County.

Began near Hickory Tavern (34.5890, -82.2260).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1090601. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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