EF1 tornado in Bamberg County, South Carolina

Tornado September 26, 2024 · Bamberg County, South Carolina

EF1

Rating

7.8 mi

Whole path

150 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Colleton County → Bamberg 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

Tornado continued into Bamberg County after it touched down in Colleton County. The tornado moved to the northwest before it turned more northward and passed to the east of Ehrhardt, where several trees were noted snapped at the trunk along Bells Highway and Morningstar Ln. The tornado then lifted near or just east of 601, near Baucham Rd.

The wider storm

Tropical Storm Helene formed in the NW Caribbean Sea on September 24. Helene moved northward into the Gulf of Mexico where it strengthened into a hurricane on September 25. During the day on September 26, Helene remained off the coast of Florida and an upper low over the southeast US led to strong moisture transport and strong forcing over the area. Heavy rain rates and training bands led to flash flooding developing. Increasing shear associated with the hurricane also led to the development of several tornadoes in heavy rain bands.

Began near Ehrhardt (33.0754, -80.9887).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Orangeburg County EF0 Clarendon County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1209156. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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