F1 tornado in Pickens County, South Carolina

Tornado January 5, 2007 · Pickens County, South Carolina

Rating

0.1 mi

Path length

20 yd

Path width

Injuries

$50K

Damage as recorded

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NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado touched down very briefly in the parking lot of the Liberty Elementary School. Nine vehicles were severely damaged. At least 4 vehicles were lifted off the ground or flipped over by the wind. Some of the vehicles were occupied by parents awaiting school dismissal. Fifteen people received mostly minor injuries, with 5 being transported to the hospital. A shed was also blown over.

The wider storm

A line of thunderstorms moved rapidly across the upstate. The line produced damaging winds and a few non-supercell tornadoes.

Began near Liberty (34.7800, -82.6800).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F0 Spartanburg County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 13242. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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