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EF1 tornado in Richland County, South Carolina

Tornado April 13, 2020 · Richland County, South Carolina

EF1
Rating
4.9 mi
Path length
80 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 80 yards (0.05 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

A strong EF-1 tornado began near the intersection of Lee Road and Trowbridge Road. The tornado continued northeast for just under 5 miles. The tornado crossed Hard Scrabble Road, Kelly Mill Road, Langford Road and dissipated near Heins Road. The maximum estimated wind speed associated with the tornado was 105 mph.

Much of the damage along the path of the tornado was tree damage. There were numerous trees that had been snapped, uprooted or suffered damage to branches. There were several homes that suffered minor roof damage to roofing materials, such as shingles, along with damage to soffit and fascia on the exterior of structures. Some of the most extensive tree damage occurred just off Langford Road near the Hunters Run neighborhood. There were also several large trees, both hardwood and softwood, that were snapped and uprooted along Kelly Mill Road near the Crickentree neighborhood. This is across the street from Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus. Along Ejw Road, across the street from Lake Carolina Elementary Lower Campus, there were several trees that has fallen across the roadway and been cleared. Additionally, along Ejw Road, there were a few trees either snapped, uprooted or with significant branch damage before the road crossed Round Top Branch. Several trees were uprooted along the entrance to Crickentree on Crickentree Drive.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Sharp (34.1556, -80.9190).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 884332. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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