What the record says
On 29 September 1963, a tornado touched down near Dillon, South Carolina. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 85.8 miles long and up to 100 yards wide, rated F2 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 3 people and injured 12.
- F2Fujita rating
- 3deaths
- 12injuries
- 85.8 mipath length
- 100 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
- Bladen County, North Carolina
- Cumberland County, North Carolina
- Robeson County, North Carolina
- Sampson County, North Carolina
- Dillon County, South Carolina
The start point was at 34.42, -79.37 and the end point at 35.27, -78.33 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in South Carolina
- Calhoun Falls, South Carolina tornado31 March 1973, F4, 7 deaths, 30 injuries, 22.6 miles long
- Laurinburg, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 7 deaths, 100 injuries, 17 miles long
- Pawleys Island, South Carolina tornado26 May 1974, F1, 6 deaths, 1 injury, 3 miles long
- Scotia, South Carolina tornado13 April 2020, EF4, 5 deaths, 60 injuries, 23.7 miles long
- Jenkinsville, South Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 5 deaths, 49 injuries, 21 miles long
- Kershaw, South Carolina tornado8 April 1957, F4, 4 deaths, 70 injuries, 121.4 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1963
- Coahoma, Mississippi tornado29 April 1963, F3, 5 deaths, 10 injuries, 5.7 miles long
- Shannon, Mississippi tornado29 April 1963, F4, 3 deaths, 20 injuries, 4.7 miles long
- Maury City, Tennessee tornado29 April 1963, F3, 3 deaths, 6 injuries, 9.3 miles long
- West, Mississippi tornado11 March 1963, F4, 2 deaths, 7 injuries, 45.2 miles long
- Colony, Alabama tornado11 March 1963, F4, 2 deaths, 6 injuries, 28 miles long
All tornadoes of 1963 · South Carolina tornado history · All notable tornadoes