Significant Tornadoes in South Carolina 2015

*Source - Storm Data Publication published by the National Climatic Data Center and severe weather reports issued by the National Weather Service.

2015

Date County Description Length (miles) Width (yards)
1 April 19, 2015 Aiken (EF2)

Supercell thunderstorms produced four tornadoes in SC. One occurred in Edgefield county, one in Aiken County, one in Lexington County, and one in Calhoun County. There were two injuries in Calhoun county when a mobile home was destroyed. Numerous trees and homes were damaged in and around the town of Aiken.

NWS storm survey found an EF2 tornado touched down near Glenwood Drive and continued across south and southeast Aiken to I-20. Numerous trees and many homes, vehicles, and other structures were damaged on the south side of Aiken.

19.54 660
2 April 19, 2015 Edgefield (EF0) NWS storm survey found an EF0 tornado intermittently touched down in wooded areas from Two Mile Road to near Bland Baptist Road. One tree fell on a home causing minor damage. 2.86 50
3 April 19, 2015 Lexington (EF1) NWS storm survey found an EF1 tornado took down numerous trees and damaged several homes on the south side of Lake Murray. The tornado continued across the lake and touched down on Shadowood Road taking down a few trees, some on homes, and also lifted a pontoon boat out of the water dropping it down on a dock on its side. 9.55 200
4 April 19, 2015 Calhoun (EF1) NWS storm survey found an EF1 tornado destroyed a mobile home on Otts Sisters Road injuring two people, damaged another, and also did minor damage to industrial facility. Numerous trees were also down along the path of the tornado. 0.26 200
5 April 19, 2015 Darlington (EF0)

A long-lived and organized line of thunderstorms moved into the area from the west during the late afternoon and evening. Thunderstorms were able to develop and blossom in the warm and increasingly unstable sector ahead of a cold front. Shear values were also notably high.

A National Weather Service Storm Survey team found evidence of an EF-0 tornado with winds to 75 mph. Two chicken houses were damaged and one other was partially destroyed off of U.S. Highway 401 near the intersection of Lynches River Road. A trailer near U.S. Highway 401 and West Lynches River Road sustained damage to its underpinning. Two disease ridden trees alongside the trailer were snapped. The tornado crossed U.S. Highway 401 knocking down numerous trees. The tornado knocked down more trees which in turn toppled a nearby power pole and power line as it crossed West Lynches Road and lifted. A piece of sheet metal from a chicken house was found 1.75 miles away, in a field off of Hudson Street.

0.46 75
6 June 9, 2015 Berkeley (EF0)

A broken line of strong thunderstorms developed within an inland trough of low pressure and moved southward across southeast South Carolina. These storms produced large hail and damaging wind gusts.

Several videos and pictures were taken of a waterspout on the northern end of Lake Moultrie. The waterspout did not make landfall.

0.21 25
7 September 24, 2015 Charleston (EF2)

A large mid and upper level low helped to draw deep moisture into southeast South Carolina while a low pressure system at the surface became centered off the southeast coast. The low tracked slowly west-northwest and aided in backing the low level wind field along the South Carolina coast. Overnight, coastal front lifted northward and allowed for surface based instability to spread inland from the adjacent coastal waters. Scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed over the coastal waters late in the evening and a few of these exhibited supercell characteristics including strong low level rotation. One thunderstorm in particular quickly strengthened as it moved onshore at Kiawah Island near the coastal front. The storm deepened and rapidly developed strengthening low and mid-level rotation. The thunderstorm soon showed numerous radar characteristics suggestive of a ongoing tornado. Ultimately the thunderstorm spawned a tornado that created a 7 mile path of damage.

A National Weather Service storm survey team confirmed a tornado on Johns Island. The tornado touched down near Cane Slash Road where one home had a portion of its roof ripped off. The tornado then tracked to the north-northwest and crossed Maybank Highway and Brownswood Road, causing minor damage to a few homes and extensive damage to trees. The tornado then tracked further north-northwest and caused the most significant damage along its path on Sonny Boy Lane, where damage to two homes was consistent with a high end EF-2 tornado. At one home, only a small portion of the roof was left intact as the rest of the roof and most of the exterior walls of the well built brick home were knocked down. A large portion of this roof and a ground level air condition unit were hurled about 150 yards. At another well built home across the street, the entire back portion of the two story house was ripped off. From there, the tornado continued its north-northwest track crossing River Road, the Stono River, Main Road, and eventually Highway 17 where it dissipated. Along this portion of the path the tornado produced widespread destruction to numerous acres of trees and damage to the roofs of two businesses near Highway 17. According to a damage assessment performed by the Charleston County Building Services Department, 51 total structures were damaged including 33 with moderate or worse damage and 18 with only minor damage. The total damage estimate resulting solely from structures was $1,539,000. Thousands and thousands of trees were uprooted or snapped off with many falling onto structures, vehicles, and roadways. The tree damage was so extensive and widespread that several roads along the path were impassable for a few days following the event.

6.85 880
8 December 23, 2015 Berkeley (EF0)

A series of shortwaves rounding the southern periphery of a longwave trough along with upper jet divergence helped spawn thunderstorms within an unseasonably warm and moist airmass over southeast South Carolina.

The National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina examined photographs provided by Berkeley County Emergency Management and drone footage provided by Skyview Aerial Solutions LLC to determine an EF0 tornado with estimated maximum wind speeds around 70 mph occurred for one minute at Carolina Nurseries, about 3 miles south southwest of Moncks Corner, South Carolina. The tornado initially formed at or near Emerald Isle Drive. Straight-line wind damage just south of this road included numerous wooden pallets that were tossed toward the northeast. A telephone pole was blown over and a two by six piece of wood pierced the east side of a building just north of Emerald Isle Drive. Roofing material was also missing from a building situated just north of Emerald Isle Drive. Emergency management personnel reported a 200 square foot shed destroyed with its roof found 300 feet from the original location. Multiple carts weighing 150 pounds each were also tossed away from the shed sight. Vegetation revealed a swirling, convergent damage signature produced by a weak tornadic circulation farther north-northeast along the tornado path.

0.2 100

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