EF2 Tornado — Allendale, South Carolina

2008-03-15 · near Averill, Allendale, South Carolina

Event narrative

An EF2 Tornado was confirmed by a storm survey conducted by the Charleston, South Carolina National Weather Service Forecast Office. The Tornado touched down in western Allendale County about 3.5 miles south-southwest of Martin at 712 PM EDT and traveled east-southeast for 18 miles before lifting about 2 miles northeast of Fairfax, South Carolina at 735 PM EDT. This Tornado uprooted or snapped off between 1500 and 2000 trees, destroyed two mobile homes, toppled a cell phone tower, produced mainly minor roof damage to many dozens of homes, knocked down numerous power lines and power poles, destroyed or severely damaged a couple dozen vehicles, destroyed several outbuildings, barns, and sheds, and overturned an empty tractor trailer along route 29 between Allendale and Seigling. The Tornado reached a maximum width of three quarters of a mile along route 29 between Allendale and Seigling. One injury occurred when a person drove a car into a tree that had fallen across the road. The maximum sustained winds in this EF2 Tornado were estimated between 115 and 125 mph. In addition to the Tornado Damage, there was sporadic straight line wind damage with estimated winds of up to 90 mph occurring up to a couple of miles south of the Tornado path. The straight line wind damage resulted in numerous downed trees and power lines, along with minor damage to homes and businesses especially in and around Allendale, South Carolina.

Wider weather episode

A large and intense area of low pressure lifted northward through the central Appalachians, dragging a strong cold front toward southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia. The combination of the approaching cold front along with strong dynamic forcing and plenty of instability resulted in a widespread organized severe weather outbreak across the region.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.0300, -81.5000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 90468. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.