EF2 Tornado — Bamberg, South Carolina

2024-01-09 · near Bamberg, Bamberg, South Carolina

Event narrative

A National Weather storm survey team confirmed an EF2 tornado, with peak winds of

125 mph, in Bamberg SC. The tornado began 1.75 miles south of the City of Bamberg

along US Hwy 601, near Cry Baby Road.

Moving north, the tornado then proceeded to flip a mobile home and cause substantial

EF2 damage to a barrel plant at the intersection of US Hwy 601 and US Hwy 301. Door

and window failure contributed to the collapse of the middle section of the building

and partial collapse of the front section. The collapsed portions of the building were

tossed across Chevrolet St into a water tower.

The tornado continued north-northeast along US-301 causing widespread EF1 roof and

tree damage before moving into downtown Bamberg.

As the tornado entered downtown Bamberg, it strengthened to EF2 intensity and

caused substantial structural damage to a series of 2-3 story historic buildings just

south of the intersection of US Hwy 78 and US Hwy 301. The newer roof section of a

building on the west side of US Hwy 301 was thrown completely off onto the adjacent

structure. There was a complete collapse of the upper stories of two buildings on the

east side of US Hwy 301 with the corner torn off another. Preexisting missing portions

of the roof and gaps in the exterior wall of the former City Hall likely contributed to its

collapse due to wind intrusion.

The tornado then moved north and quickly weakened as it crossed US Hwy 78 before

dissipating 0.4 miles north of downtown Bamberg along US Hwy 301.

The National Weather Service would like to thank wind engineers from the Insurance

Institute for Business and Home Safety for their expertise assisting with surveying

some of the structural damage.

Wider weather episode

Strong upper level and surface areas of low pressure moved NE into the Midwest, while a cold front along with a secondary weak low, formed and moved through the area. Gradient wind gusts, along with enhanced wind gusts associated with severe thunderstorms and a strong low level jet, resulted in widespread tree damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.2729, -81.0435)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1147216. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.