TornadoLookup

Home / South Carolina / Horry

EF1 tornado in Horry County, South Carolina

Tornado December 17, 2023 · Horry County, South Carolina

EF1
Rating
2.4 mi
Path length
150 yd
Path width
$200K
Damage as recorded
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

The tornado touched down south of Socastee Blvd between Everette

St and Tyner St, snapping several large trees and blowing off

portions of roofs from a few mobile homes. It moved north,

skipped across Socastee Blvd, and snapped several large pines

along Village Dr. Eight homes suffered moderate to major damage

as a result of falling trees. The storm cell continued north

across inaccessible property, and emerged near Folly Rd and

Wayland Circle. Significant damage was observed to several homes

and trees. Several trees were snapped or uprooted, and minor to

moderate damage was noted to roofs and siding. One mobile home

was pushed off its block foundation. The tornado appeared to lift

as it crossed the Intracoastal Waterway and touched down again on

the Arrowhead Country Club property. Numerous large hard and

softwood trees were snapped just south of the Flintlake

Apartments. Tree debris was blown into several apartments,

breaking windows and causing moderate roof and siding damage.

Damage upstream of the initial touchdown, along and south of

Palmetto Pointe Blvd, was straightline in nature and not the

result of a tornado. Additional wind damage occurred to the old

Waccamaw Mall at Fantasy Harbour. Portions of the facade were

blown off, in addition to several pieces of siding. A few bay

doors were blown in, and a large section of storefront wall was

buckled outward a few inches. A few nearby UPS and FedEx trucks

were blown over, in addition to a tractor trailer. This damage

appeared to be the result of straightline winds that occurred

after the tornado dissipated and the storm cell bowed

northeastward. Spotty tree damage was also observed on the

northeast side of Highway 501 in the River Oaks area.

The wider storm

A strong nor'easter brought coastal flooding, strong winds, and flooding. Record rainfall totals and record low barometric pressure for December observed at 4 climate sites.

Began near Stalvey (33.6837, -78.9737).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1153061. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.