EF3 Tornado — Aiken, South Carolina

2020-04-13 · near Ellenton, Aiken, South Carolina

Event narrative

A strong, long-track tornado began in Aiken Co SC, within the boundaries of the Savannah River Site southeast of Jackson, SC, then moved in a general northeast direction. While in Aiken Co, the tornado was rated EF-3, with peak wind speeds of 140 mph.

Based off of high resolution imagery, radar data (including the height debris was detected), and correspondence with Savannah River Site officials, it was determined that the tornado became strong within the Savannah River Site boundaries as it moved to the northeast. As the tornado moved out of the Savannah River Site, it produced significant damage near Williston Rd and Jaywood Rd west of Williston. In this area, significant roof damage and a partial wall collapse to a brick house occurred, with a small cinder block workshop destroyed. The tornado then destroyed a vacant cinder block store building, and removed the roof and some of the walls of a metal auto shop building. Nearby trees were all snapped near the base. A mobile home was shifted about 6-10 feet off its foundation along Cherry Tree Rd. Along Tinker Creek Rd, the tornado destroyed a brick shed and removed most of the roof off a home,

completely destroyed a manufactured home near Charleston Hwy (US Hwy 78), and based on aerial photographs blew down a large swath of trees east of the roadway. The tornado then crossed Charleston Hwy, removing a large portion of the roof and collapsing an exterior wall of a business.

The tornado then crossed into Barnwell Co SC, NW of the town of Williston near Davis Bridge Rd, and continued moving NE across N Barnwell Co, and crossed into Orangeburg Co SC, where it dissipated just before reaching the town limits of Neeses, east of Ninety Six Rd.

Wider weather episode

A squall line rolled through the region during the early morning hours of April 13, 2020. Strong instability and shear led to numerous severe thunderstorm wind gusts along with several tornadoes. In total, across central SC, there were 5 EF-3 tornadoes, 1 EF-2 tornadoes, and 1 EF-1 tornado. Two fatalities, and several injuries, occurred with the tornadoes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.2751, -81.7048)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 884156. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.