EF2 tornado in Lancaster County, South Carolina

Tornado May 5, 2020 · Lancaster County, South Carolina

EF2

Rating

14.0 mi

Whole path

200 yd

Path width

$100K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Chester County → Lancaster 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

A tornado touched down west of Great Falls in Chester Co SC (see Storm Data for South Carolina, Northwest, for more information on the tornado in Chester Co). The tornado moved to the SE and crossed into Lancaster Co SC at the Catawba River near Pickett Island. The tornado strengthened as it crossed the Catawba River and entered SW Lancaster County. The tornado moved to the SE, producing significant tree damage, with numerous large hardwood and softwood trees uprooted or snapped. The most significant damage occurred between Green Rd and Cedar Creek Rd near Mount Carmel Rd where estimated winds were up to 115 mph. A tree also fell on a vehicle on Cedar Creek Rd. The tornado then crossed Cunningham Quarters Rd, before dissipating near Mable Anthony Rd.

This supercell thunderstorm also produced large hail in Chester Co SC (see Storm Data for South Carolina, Northwest) and in Lancaster Co and N Kershaw Co (See Storm Data for South Carolina, Central for additional hail information).

The wider storm

Upper energy and a surface wave of low pressure moved east and interacted with a nearly stationary surface front, which combined with strong atmospheric instability and shear, led to a band of supercells that tracked east across the northern Midlands of SC producing large hail and a tornado.

Began near Cauthens Xrds (34.5580, -80.8730).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 887879. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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