What the record says
On 5 May 1989, a tornado touched down near Chesnee, South Carolina. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 15 miles long and up to 700 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 2 people and injured 35.
- F4Fujita rating
- 2deaths
- 35injuries
- 15 mipath length
- 700 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5.
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
The start point was at 35.08, -81.93 and the end point at 35.25, -81.82 (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 1989
- Huntsville, Alabama tornado15 November 1989, F4, 21 deaths, 463 injuries, 18.5 miles long
- Kiryas Joel, New York tornado16 November 1989, F1, 9 deaths, 18 injuries, 9.1 miles long
- Belwood, North Carolina tornado5 May 1989, F4, 4 deaths, 52 injuries, 14 miles long
- Apalachicola, Florida tornado8 June 1989, F2, 3 deaths, 4 injuries, 3 miles long
- Indian Trail, North Carolina tornado5 May 1989, F4, 1 death, 6 injuries, 13 miles long
All tornadoes of 1989 · South Carolina tornado history · All notable tornadoes