Hampton County tornado’s winds set record, stronger than researchers first believed
The tornado that ravaged parts of Hampton County on April 13 was upgraded Friday to an EF4, the first storm of that strength ever recorded in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
Last week, the National Weather Service rated the tornado — which killed five, injured at least 60 others, and damaged almost 200 homes — an EF3 with wind speeds of up to 165 mph.
After additional damage surveys, it was determined the tornado had wind speeds of up to 175 mph.
EF5 tornadoes, which are the strongest, have wind speeds greater than 200 mph.
The last EF4 tornado in the state was more than two decades ago on Nov. 17, 1995, in Marion County.
The tornado that ripped through Hampton County traveled an “unusually” long 24-mile path and grew as large as three quarters of a mile wide, according to previous NWS data. It formed at about 6:10 a.m. 24 miles southwest of Estill and ended near the Colleton County line.
The most significant structural damage was just south of Estill and across Nixville, which includes Lento Road where the roof and all of the exterior and interior walls of a two-story house were “removed and dispersed across the yard,” the NWS reported. Damage suggests there were multiple vortices.
The tornado was at an EF2 or EF3 rating in the area of Sprayfield Road and Lena Expressway, then “reached peak intensity” along Lento Road. EF2 tornadoes have wind speeds of up to 135 mph.
The tornado in Hampton County was one of many across the state and the southeast on April 13. Nine people died in South Carolina as a result of the severe weather.
A similar EF4 tornado with multiple vortices in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Ala., on April 27, 2011, resulted in 65 deaths and 1,500 injuries. That storm had wind speeds of up to 190 mph and traveled more than 80 miles, according to NWS.
A tornado in Joplin, Mo., - which was deemed the deadliest since modern record keeping began and left almost 160 people dead and 1,000 injured on May 22, 2011 - was an EF5 with multiple vortices. Its wind speeds surpassed 200 mph and the storm traveled a 22-mile path.
