EF2 tornado in Pickens County, South Carolina

Tornado April 13, 2020 · Pickens County, South Carolina

EF2

Rating

8.0 mi

Whole path

200 yd

Path width

Injuries

$300K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Pickens County → Greenville County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

NWS Storm Survey determined the path of a tornado that began in northern Pickens County near the intersection of Highway 8 and Log House Rd. Numerous trees were uprooted and large trees snapped as the tornado moved northeast, crossing Dacusville Highway, Cedar Rd, and the Oolenoy River. From there, it moved roughly parallel to Highway 288 before crossing into Greenville County. The most significant damage was found along the banks of the Saluda River, including along Yankee Rebel Pt and Sherwood Rd, where two mobile homes were rolled and several large hardwood trees snapped. A total of eight people were injured in this area.

The wider storm

A strong storm system impacted the Southeast, resulting in a line of strong to severe thunderstorms that moved across upstate South Carolina during the early morning hours of the 13th. This resulted in severe weather, including a couple of strong tornadoes, one of which was the strongest tornado to impact the upstate area in more than 25 years.

Began near Pumpkintown (34.9660, -82.6670).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF3 Oconee County 1 dead EF1 Oconee County EF0 Pickens County EF0 Greenville County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 886204. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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