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EF1 tornado in Saluda County, South Carolina

Tornado January 27, 2024 · Saluda County, South Carolina

EF1
Rating
3.0 mi
Whole path
150 yd
Path width

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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

A National Weather Service storm survey team confirmed a brief EF-1 tornado, with

peak winds of 100 mph, Saturday evening in Northern Saluda County. The tornado

begin point and time was later adjusted slightly after new Sentinel satellite data

indicated the tornado touched down about 0.75 miles before the previously observed

damage. NDVI difference data & higher resolution visible imagery show an area of

trees down near the initial part of this track. The tornado then continued tracking to the

NE to near the intersection of Hunters Lane and Blue Spring Road producing

minor damage to two houses in addition to a large number of trees further down

Hunters Lane on both sides of the road where EF-1 damage was observed. The tornado

then moved northeast into an inaccessible wooded area behind homes on Blue Spring

Rd. The tornado turned slightly left crossing Blue Spring Rd in a NNE direction

producing EF-1 damage to another wooded area before dissipating in an open field

while approaching Hollywood Rd. The survey team estimated several hundred trees

were damaged along the path. Many of the trees were uprooted along with a few

trunks snapped. The damage to homes was mainly to the fascia board and missing

shingles.

The wider storm

A cold front and upper disturbance, combined with sufficient instability and shear, to produce a few severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Began near Merchant (34.0600, -81.6700).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1149494. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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