SC-NC-VA Tornado Outbreak
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| Date of tornado outbreak: | May 5, 1989 |
| Duration1: | ~ 7 hours |
| Maximum rated tornado2: | F4 tornado |
| Tornadoes caused: | 16 |
| Damages: | $170 million (non-normalized) |
| Fatalities: | 7 |
| Areas affected: | Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia |
|
1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
|
The SC-NC-VA outbreak (tornadoes were also reported in Georgia) occurred on May 5, 1989. The outbreak spawned 16 tornadoes in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, and was responsible for a combined total of $169 million dollars in damage in the four states. It also caused 7 deaths and 168 injuries.
Contents |
[edit] Confirmed Tornadoes
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 16 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Sources: [1]
| F# | Location | County | Time (EST) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | ||||||
| F1 | near Gainesville | Hall | 03:20 | 1 mile |
Minor damage northeast of Gainesville. | |
| F2 | near Toccoa | Stephens GA, Oconee SC | 04:00 | 8 miles |
Tornado crossed from Georgia into South Carolina near Toccoa and Westminster. | |
| South Carolina | ||||||
| F1 | near Walhalla | Oconee | 04:40 | 2 miles |
Brief touchdown. | |
| F4 | near Chesnee | Spartanburg SC, Cherokee SC, Rutherford NC | 05:20 | 13 miles |
First violent tornado of the outbreak passed close to Chesnee before crossing the NC/SC state line into SE Rutherford County. Damage path was 1/2 mile wide in places. | |
| North Carolina | ||||||
| F4 | Belwood, Vale | Cleveland, Lincoln, Catawba | 05:50 | 14 miles |
Half-mile wide, multi-votex tornado causes severe damage in the communities of Belwood and Vale. Tornado weakened and dissipated as it approached Newton. | |
| F2 | north of Durham | Durham | 06:20 | 9 miles |
Second tornado family begins with this tornado, which formed north of Durham and passed west of Butner. | |
| F2 | near Lenoir | Caldwell | 06:28 | 15 miles |
Moderate damage near Lenoir. | |
| F4 | Indian Trail | Union | 07:00 | 13 miles |
Intense tornado, which moved through the Indian Trail area NW of Monroe and 20 miles SE of downtown Charlotte. | |
| F1 | west of Oxford | Granville | 07:05 | 3 miles |
Second and last tornado from the Durham supercell. | |
| F2 | Clemmons | Forsyth | 07:45 | 1 mile |
Moderate damage from brief touchdown in the Winston-Salem suburb of Clemmons. | |
| F3 | Winston-Salem | Forsyth | 07:50 | 11 miles |
2nd Forsyth County tornado produces over $25 million in F3 damage on a SW to NE track through the city, striking colonial-era neighborhoods and just missing downtown. Storm criss-crossed old I-40 in multiple locations. | |
| F1 | near Morven | Anson | 07:50 | 5 miles |
Weak tornado SE of Wadesboro. | |
| F1 | Oakboro | Stanly | 08:00 | 0.5 mile |
Very brief touchdown, from the same storm producing the earlier Indian Trail tornado. | |
| F2 | north of Walkertown | Forsyth | 08:05 | 6 miles |
Third Forsyth County tornado, formed almost immediately after the Winston-Salem tornado dissipated, and continued along an extension of the same path. | |
| Virginia | ||||||
| F1 | near Louisa | Louisa | 09:00 | 2 miles |
Isolated tornado touches down between Charlottesville and Richmond. | |
| F1 | near Louisa | Louisa | 09:50 | 2 miles |
Second Louisa County tornado touches down from separate thunderstorm, several miles east of previous Louisa tornado. | |
[edit] Georgia and South Carolina
| State | Total | County | County total |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 5 | Lincoln | 4 |
| Union | 1 | ||
| South Carolina | 2 | Spartanburg | 2 |
| Totals | 7 | ||
| All deaths were tornado-related | |||
The first tornadoes of this outbreak were reported between 1 and 2 P.M. near Gainesville, Georgia and Toccoa, Georgia. During the mid-afternoon, severe storms began moving northeast into the northwest corner of South Carolina, spawning additional tornadoes in Oconee County.
The first violent tornadoes (F3 or F4 intensity - see Fujita scale) of the outbreak were reported shortly thereafter, north and northeast of Spartanburg and Gaffney, South Carolina. These tornadoes crossed into North Carolina, entering Rutherford County in North Carolina.
[edit] North Carolina and Virginia
Other F4 tornadoes soon formed just to the north (on a path from northern Cleveland County to southwest of Hickory), and also in Union County, southeast of Charlotte. The Cleveland-Lincoln-Catawba tornado caused 30 injuries and $20 million in property damage in the Belwood community, before then causing 4 fatalities and 19 additional injuries in the Vale community in northwestern Lincoln County. Weaker tornadoes were noted in the NC foothills near Lenoir, and the Union County supercell later spawned F1 tornadoes in nearby Anson and Stanly counties.
Later in the afternoon, a strong F3 tornado produced $25 million in damage on a southwest-to-northeast path through the city of Winston-Salem. Damage from this storm was visible along Business I-40 and US 421 in southwest Winston-Salem. The historic Old Salem area was also hard hit; many century-old trees in Salem Square and God's Acre were heavily damaged by the tornado and had to be removed. In the surrounding areas of Forsyth County, NC, two other tornadoes were confirmed between 5:30 and 6:15 P.M. Strong winds associated with the same squall line downed a radio transmission tower in nearby High Point. Winds toppled large trees and caused roof damage in the Emerywood neighborhood of the city. At about the same time, a series of weaker and short-lived tornadoes nonetheless also managed to produce $27.5 million in damage in northern Durham and southwest Granville counties.
Later in the evening, the last two tornadoes of the outbreak produced minor damage in Louisa County, between Richmond and Charlottesville.
[edit] Ultimate toll
Large hail and wind damage reports were widespread - golf-ball sized hail was recorded near Columbia, South Carolina and Monroe, North Carolina, with severe wind reports from over 100 counties from Georgia to Maryland. Some form of storm damage was noted in almost every North Carolina county between I-95 and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
