EF1 tornado in Berkeley County, South Carolina

A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team confirmed an EF1 tornado with an estimated maximum wind speed of 95 mph in Moncks Corner, South Carolina occurring from 153 AM to 200 AM EST.

The tornado, which originated in an outer rainband associated with Tropical Storm Debby, touched down just east of McCormick Circle, snapping two trees in the woods behind an Applebee's. The tornado then moved northwest, causing damage to the Applebee's sign and then turned west, flipping vehicles that led to 2 minor injuries. The tornado then continued on a west track, impacting an Arby's. This was the location of the strongest damage as numerous windows were blown out at the Arby's on both the west and east-facing sides of the building. The rooftop A/C was also blown into the Arby's parking lot. However, no other structural damage was noted and therefore the degree of damage was kept near the middle of the expected wind speed, or at 95 mph. The Walmart Supercenter to the northwest of Arby's also sustained some very minor roof fascia damage, which was starting to peel off from the main structure. The tornado then continued to move northwest and passed Mitton Road, where several trees were uprooted with a few branches greater than 3 inches in diameter broken. There was also a residence on Mitton Road that had roof damage to less than 20% of the structure. The tornado then moved northwest and weakened as it crossed Kitfield Road, where some branches (mostly 1-3 in diameter) were broken. There were also branches (1-3 in diameter) snapped northwest of this location on Lois Circle and Broughton Road. The tornado then continued a path northwest, before dissipating on the northern end of the Pinopolis Peninsula along the south end of Lake Moultrie.

Debby first developed into a tropical storm about 100 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida late afternoon on August 3rd, then gradually strengthened to a strong tropical storm while tracking north across the eastern Gulf of Mexico on August 4th. Debby then reached hurricane force strength late on August 4th about 100 miles west-northwest of Tampa, before continuing a north-northeast track across the eastern Gulf of Mexico and eventually making landfall near the Big Bend area of Florida as a Category 1 Hurricane during the morning of August 5th. Debby continued inland and weakened to a tropical storm while tracking northeast across northern Florida later on August 5th, then continued a gradual weakening trend while tracking across Southeast Georgia as a tropical storm (45 mph) before slowly emerging off the Southeast Coast at tropical storm strength (40 mph) near Tybee Island, Georgia on August 6th. Debby then tracked east and farther offshore early August 7th, then turned north and became a strong tropical storm (60 mph) over the Gulf Stream later that morning, before taking a more north-northwest track back toward the Southeast Coast and making landfall near Awendaw/Bulls Bay, South Carolina as a tropical storm (50 mph) around 2 AM on August 8th. A minimum surface pressure of 994 mb was recorded at Sullivan's Island (XSLV), South Carolina prior to Debby making landfall. After landfall, Debby continued on a north-northwest track across South Carolina as a tropical storm into mid day August 8th, before weakening to a depression later that day and continuing a north path across North Carolina and Virginia into early August 9th.

Across Southeast South Carolina, the main impacts associated with Debby included flash flooding due to widespread heavy rainfall, several nighttime tornadoes within rainbands and scattered tree damage associated with near tropical storm force winds.

Prolonged heavy rainfall across Southeast South Carolina brought widespread flash flooding on August 5th and 6th, additional areas of flash flooding on August 7th, 8th and 9th, along with considerable and prolonged flooding of creeks, streams and main stem rivers for several days thereafter. Numerous homes and roads were flooded, leading to rescues and/or evacuations. Storm total rainfall amounts from August 4th to August 9th generally ranged between 4 to 22 inches with highest amounts across the Quad County Area (Berkeley, Dorchester, Charleston, Colleton) and particularly along a stretch from Summerville, Ridgeville, St George and Harleyville, South Carolina to Moncks Corner, South Carolina. A peak storm total rainfall of 22.02 inches was recorded by a CoCoRaHS observer approximately 6.6 miles southwest of Moncks Corner, South Carolina. A daily record rainfall of 4.71 inches was also set on August 6th at the Charleston International Airport (KCHS). Despite a large amount of rain and flash flooding, storm surge/coastal flooding did not lead to mentionable impacts locally. The highest water level at the Charleston (CHTS1) tide gauge was 1.06 ft MHHW during the evening of August 5th. No injuries or fatalities occurred with flash flooding/flooding.

Several rainbands associated with Debby brought 8 tornadoes (4 EF1 and 4 EF0) across coastal counties of Southeast South Carolina during the night of August 5th into early August 6th, causing damage to numerous trees and many structures. An EF1 tornado in Berkeley County caused 2 minor injuries when a car was flipped by the tornado. A total of 2 minor injuries and no fatalities occurred with tornadoes.

Tropical storm force winds/gusts produced scattered tree damage and communication/power outages across several counties. One minor injury occurred when a tree fell down on a vehicle in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Strongest winds were recorded across coastal areas and nearby coastal waters. The highest sustained tropical storm wind (39 knots) and highest tropical storm wind gust (55 knots) occurred at Folly Beach South End (XFSE), South Carolina. Across nearby coastal waters, the highest sustained tropical storm wind (44 knots) and highest tropical storm wind gust (51 knots) occurred at the Edisto Buoy (41004). A total of 1 minor injury and no fatalities occurred by tropical cyclone winds.