EF3 Tornado — Orangeburg, South Carolina

2020-04-13 · near Springfield, Orangeburg, South Carolina

Event narrative

A strong, long-track tornado began just south of the town of Elko in Barnwell Co SC where it was rated as EF-1, then moved in a general northeast direction through Orangeburg Co SC, where it reached EF-3 intensity and caused 2 fatalities and 7 injuries. The tornado dissipated shortly after crossing into Calhoun Co SC southwest of St. Matthews before reaching I-26.

The tornado downed numerous trees along its path. It crossed Norway Rd where it snapped multiple power poles. As the tornado reached Fire Tower Rd west of Neeses, it intensified further, destroying 3 anchored manufactured homes on Preserver Rd near Ninety Six Rd. It was in this area that the 2 known fatalities occurred to residents in a double-wide manufactured home.

The tornado then turned more eastward, crossing Savannah Hwy (US Hwy 321) and Dragstrip Rd north of Livingston. There were several homes or manufactured homes that were heavily damaged or destroyed in this area. The tornado gradually weakened as it crossed North Rd (US Hwy 178) and crossed into Calhoun Co.

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 → (33.4539, -81.2651)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 884164. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.