1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak 2463612 218009820 2008-06-08T19:14:30Z WxGopher 1356431 cleanup using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{Infobox tornado outbreak |name=1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak |date=March 28, 1984 |image location=NC march 28 1984.png |image name=A map of confirmed tornadoes from this outbreak |duration=~ 10 hours |fujitascale=F4 |tornadoes=24 |total damages (USD)= +$578 million (non-normalized) |total fatalities= 57 deaths, 1248 injuries |areas affected=[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[South Carolina]], [[North Carolina]], [[Virginia]] }} The '''1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak''' of [[March 28]], [[1984]] was the most destructive tornado to sweep through the two states since the [[Enigma tornado outbreak]] struck 100 years and 1 month earlier, according to NOAA and NCDC public records. ==Forecast== Weather records from March 28 indicate that an earlier tornado watch had been issued covering Northern [[Alabama]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and small tornadoes were reported in [[Barrow County, Georgia|Barrow County]] (2:25 P.M., Eastern Standard Time) and [[Henry County, Georgia|Henry County]] (2:30 P.M., EST) in north Georgia. The first severe reports from [[North Carolina]] - golf-ball sized hail reports from [[Macon County, NC]] also occurred at this time. Severe storms began entering Western [[South Carolina]] by mid-afternoon, and [[tornado]] watches had been issued for most of [[South Carolina]], North Carolina and a portion of [[Virginia]]. {{Tornado Chart | Total=24 | F0=2 | F1=4 | F2=6 | F3=5 | F4=7 | F5=0 }} {| class="wikitable" |- !'''[[Fujita scale|F#]]''' !'''Location''' !'''County''' !'''Time (EST)''' !'''Path length''' !'''Damage''' |- |colspan="7" align=center|'''[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]''' |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat1}} | <big>'''F1'''</big> |'''[[Barrow County, Georgia|Barrow]] ''' |[[Barrow County, Georgia|Barrow]] |03:25 |12 miles <br> |'''1 Injury.''' Tornado in Barrow County W of Athens. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|storm}} | <big>'''F0'''</big> |'''[[Henry County, Georgia|Henry]]''' |[[Henry County, Georgia|Henry]] |04:30 |1 mile <br> |Very brief touchdown SE of Atlanta. |- |colspan="7" align=center|'''[[South Carolina]]''' |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat1}} | <big>'''F1'''</big> |'''[[Due West, South Carolina|Due West]]''' |[[Abbeville County, South Carolina|Abbeville]] |04:30 |3 miles <br> |'''24 Injuries.''' Brief touchdown. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|storm}} | <big>'''F0'''</big> |'''[[Ware Shoals, South Carolina|Ware Shoals]] ''' |[[Laurens County, South Carolina|Laurens]] |04:40 |10 miles <br> |'''43 Injuries.''' Tornado moved between Ware Shoals and Laurens. '''1 Death''' and '''14 Injuries''' were also produced by non-tornadic damage in the Fountain Inn area of NW Laurens County. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat2}} | <big>'''F2'''</big> |1st '''[[Newberry, South Carolina|Newberry]] ''' |[[Newberry County, South Carolina|Newberry]] |05:20 |23 miles <br> |'''1 Death, 38 Injuries.''' Large F2 tornado moved NE through downtown Newberry. The path of this storm was 3/4 of a mile in width in places. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat3}} | <big>'''F3'''</big> |2nd '''[[Newberry, South Carolina|Newberry]] ''' |[[Newberry County, South Carolina|Newberry]] |05:40 |19 miles <br> |'''10 Injuries.''' Intense tornado touched down just east of downtown Newberry, and moved to the east. Over 250 houses were destroyed. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat4}} | <big>'''F4'''</big> |'''[[Winnsboro, South Carolina|Winnsboro]] ''' |[[Fairfield County, South Carolina|Fairfield]] |06:00 |21 miles |'''5 Deaths, 49 Injuries.''' F4 tornado moved east through the northern edge of Winnsboro before crossing [[I-77]], parallel to the previous tornado along much of its' path; the circulation was up to 1.15 mile in width. One death in a truck that was blown from the interstate. Substantial downburst damage linked the paths of this and the subsequent three tornadoes.<ref>''Syracuse Post-Herald'', Syracuse, New York. March 29, 1984, page A5</ref><ref>Grazulis, Thomas P. (1991). Significant Tornadoes 1880-1989, page 647-648, Environmental Films, St. Johnsbury, VT.</ref> |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat4}} | <big>'''F4'''</big> |'''[[Kershaw, South Carolina|Kershaw]]''' |[[Kershaw County, South Carolina|Kershaw]], [[Lancaster County, South Carolina|Lancaster]] |06:20 |4 miles <br> |'''36 Injuries.''' Massive timber damage reported S of Kershaw, with one nearby neighborhood destroyed. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat2}} | <big>'''F2'''</big> |'''9 miles north of [[McBee, South Carolina|McBee]]''' |[[Chesterfield County, South Carolina|Chesterfield]] |06:40 |2 miles <br> |Tornado touched down in the Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge, producing timber damage. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat4}} | <big>'''F4'''</big> |'''Cash''' |[[Chesterfield County, South Carolina|Chesterfield]] |06:45 |7 miles <br> |'''24 Injuries.''' Tornado touched down 8 miles SW of Cheraw, and destroyed several homes in the community of Cash before dissipating along the Pee Dee River W of Bennettsville. -''[[Carolinas Tornado Outbreak#Bennettsville to Red Springs tornadoes|see section on this storm]]'' |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat4}} | <big>'''F4'''</big> |'''[[Bennettsville, South Carolina|Bennettsville]]''' SC (1st), '''Fletcher''' SC, '''Johns''' NC |[[Marlboro County, South Carolina|Marlboro]] SC, [[Scotland County, North Carolina|Scotland]] NC |07:10 |17 miles <br> |'''7 Deaths, 100 Injuries.''' Tornado touched down very near the endpoint of the previous tornado, passing through N Bennettsville before dissipating near Laurinburg. Crossing the NC/SC line, it's area of circulation grew to a 1.75 mile width. --''[[Carolinas Tornado Outbreak#Bennettsville to Red Springs tornadoes|see section on this storm]]'' |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat4}} | <big>'''F4'''</big> |'''[[Bennettsville, South Carolina|Bennettsville]]''' SC (2nd), '''[[McColl, South Carolina|McColl]]''' SC, '''[[Maxton, North Carolina|Maxton]]''' NC, '''[[Red Springs, North Carolina|Red Springs]]''' NC, '''Shannon''' NC, '''[[Parkton, North Carolina|Parkton]]''' NC |[[Marlboro County, South Carolina|Marlboro]] SC, [[Scotland County, North Carolina|Scotland]] NC, [[Robeson County, North Carolina|Robeson]] NC, [[Cumberland County, North Carolina|Cumberland]] NC |07:20 |40 miles <br> |'''4 Deaths, 395 Injuries.''' Tornado touched down in SE Bennettsville, causing additional destruction in the town. Tornado was 2+ miles wide in places, and it paralleled the previous tornado at distances of less than 5 miles to the state line. Damage in McColl and Red Springs was extreme. -''[[Carolinas Tornado Outbreak#Bennettsville to Red Springs tornadoes|see section on this storm]]'' |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat2}} | <big>'''F2'''</big> |west of '''[[Loris, South Carolina|Loris]]''' SC to '''Beaverdam''' NC |[[Horry County, South Carolina|Horry]] SC, [[Columbus County, North Carolina|Columbus]] NC |09:35 |16 miles <br> |'''8 Injuries.''' Tornado touched down NW of Conway, and was isolated from other tornado families in this outbreak. Tornado passed close to Loris, SC and Tabor City, NC. Most damage in the Beaverdam community, south of Whiteville. |- |colspan="7" align=center|'''[[North Carolina]]''' |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat1}} | <big>'''F1'''</big> |'''Fairview''' |[[Union County, North Carolina|Union]] |06:10 |0.5 mile |Brief touchdown in northern Union County, in the Fairview community. This storm had produced large hail and wind damage reports across south Charlotte and Matthews shortly before this tornado. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat3}} | <big>'''F3'''</big> |'''[[Roseboro, North Carolina|Roseboro]]''', '''[[Salemburg, North Carolina|Salemburg]]''' |[[Bladen County, North Carolina|Bladen]], [[Cumberland County, North Carolina|Cumberland]], [[Sampson County, North Carolina|Sampson]] |07:45 |40 miles <br> |'''12 Deaths, 101 Injuries''' in Roseboro, Salemburg and Clinton. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat2}} | <big>'''F2'''</big> |'''[[Rocky Mount, North Carolina|Rocky Mount]]''' |[[Nash County, North Carolina|Nash]] |08:10 |2 miles <br> |F2 damage on the SW edge of Rocky Mount. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat4}} | <big>'''F4'''</big> |'''[[Faison, North Carolina|Faison]]''', '''[[Mount Olive, North Carolina|Mount Olive]]''' |[[Sampson County, North Carolina|Sampson]], [[Duplin County, North Carolina|Duplin]], [[Wayne County, North Carolina|Wayne]] |08:15 |21 miles <br> |'''3 Deaths, 149 Injuries.''' Strong F4 damage in the town of Mount Olive; parts of the Mount Olive College campus were affected. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat3}} | <big>'''F3'''</big> |between '''[[La Grange, North Carolina|LaGrange]]''' and '''[[Walnut Creek, North Carolina|Walnut Creek]]''' |[[Wayne County, North Carolina|Wayne]], [[Lenoir County, North Carolina|Lenoir]] |08:30 |9 miles <br> |'''81 Injuries.''' |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat4}} | <big>'''F4'''</big> |'''[[Winterville, North Carolina|Winterville]], [[Ayden, North Carolina|Ayden]], [[Greenville, North Carolina|Greenville]]''' |[[Wayne County, North Carolina|Wayne]], [[Lenoir County, North Carolina|Lenoir]], [[Greene County, North Carolina|Greene]], [[Pitt County, North Carolina|Pitt]] |08:45 |46 miles <br> |'''16 Deaths, 153 Injuries.''' Tornado was up to 1 mile wide. Fatalities in Greene County, Winterville, Ayden & Greenville, where SE suburbs and portions of the campus of East Carolina Univ experienced severe damage. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat3}} | <big>'''F3'''</big> |'''[[Lewiston Woodville, North Carolina|Lewiston Woodville]]''' |[[Bertie County, North Carolina|Bertie]] |08:55 |6 miles <br> |'''6 Deaths, 19 Injuries.''' NW corner of Bertie County; tornado circulation was up to 1/2 mile wide. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat2}} | <big>'''F2'''</big> |'''[[Ahoskie, North Carolina|Ahoskie]]''' |[[Bertie County, North Carolina|Bertie]], [[Hertford County, North Carolina|Hertford]] |09:10 |5 miles <br> |'''7 Injuries.''' F2 damage in Ahoskie. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat1}} | <big>'''F1'''</big> |E of '''Cambridge''' |[[Hertford County, North Carolina|Hertford]] |09:17 |1 mile <br> |Damage near Harrellsville and the Wiccacon River. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat3}} | <big>'''F3'''</big> |'''[[Gatesville, North Carolina|Gatesville]]''' |[[Gates County, North Carolina|Gates]] |09:37 |14 miles <br> |'''2 Deaths, 10 Injuries.''' Several houses destroyed along mostly rural path. Wind damage reports continued into rural parts of the city of Chesapeake, VA. |- |bgcolor=#{{Storm colour|cat2}} | <big>'''F2'''</big> |'''[[Snug Harbor, North Carolina|Snug Harbor]]''' |[[Chowan County, North Carolina|Chowan]], [[Perquimans County, North Carolina|Perquimans]] |10:15 |6 miles <br> |'''1 Death, 1 Injury.''' Southeast of Edenton; the last tornado of the outbreak. |- Sources: [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~storms]</small> |} ==South Carolina== {| class="prettytable" style="margin:0 0 0.5em 1em;float:right;" |+'''Outbreak death toll''' |- !'''State''' !'''Total''' !'''County''' !'''County<br />total''' |- |rowspan=9 bgcolor="#e6e9ff"|[[North Carolina]] |rowspan=9 bgcolor="#e6e9ff"|'''42''' |[[Bertie County, North Carolina| Bertie]] |6 |- |[[Cumberland County, North Carolina| Cumberland]] |2 |- |[[Gates County, North Carolina| Gates]] |2 |- |[[Greene County, North Carolina| Greene]] |7 |- |[[Perquimans County, North Carolina| Perquimans]] |1 |- |[[Pitt County, North Carolina| Pitt]] |9 |- |[[Robeson County, North Carolina| Robeson]] |2 |- |[[Sampson County, North Carolina| Sampson]] |10 |- |[[Wayne County, North Carolina| Wayne]] |3 |- |rowspan=3 bgcolor="#e6e9ff"|[[South Carolina]] |rowspan=3 bgcolor="#e6e9ff"|'''15''' |[[Fairfield County, South Carolina| Fairfield]] |5 |- |[[Marlboro County, South Carolina| Marlboro]] |9 |- |[[Newberry County, South Carolina| Newberry]] |1 |- |bgcolor="#e6e9ff"|Totals |bgcolor="#e6e9ff"|'''57''' |colspan=2| |- |colspan=4 align=center| <small>All deaths were tornado-related</small> |- |} The first tornado report in South Carolina was in [[Abbeville County, South Carolina|Abbeville County]], at 3:30 P.M. This became the first in what evolved into a strengthening family of tornadoes that left damage along a path over 300 miles long in two states. Ten minutes later, a tornado was confirmed in neighboring [[Laurens County, South Carolina|Laurens County]]. Within an hour, significant (F2 and F3 - see [[Fujita scale]]) damage was reported from two tornadoes reported twenty minutes apart in the [[Newberry, South Carolina|Newberry]] area. An even stronger tornado, rated F4, then moved from [[Newberry County, South Carolina|Newberry County]] into [[Fairfield County, South Carolina|Fairfield County]]. This storm skirted the northern edge of [[Winnsboro, South Carolina|Winnsboro]], before crossing (and briefly closing) [[I-77]]. Shortly thereafter, F4 tornado damage was noted in [[Lancaster County, South Carolina|Lancaster County, SC]] and [[Chesterfield County, South Carolina|Chesterfield County, SC]]. $14 million in damage was recorded in and around Newberry and Winnsboro, with severe, widepread damage seen in downtown Newberry and along the northern edge of Winnsboro. At the same time, the first tornado report from North Carolina was recorded - a weak F1 tornado that briefly touched down in [[Union County, North Carolina]] between [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] and [[Monroe, North Carolina|Monroe]]. ==Bennettsville to Red Springs tornadoes== At 5:45 P.M., another F4 tornado was reported in Chesterfield County, near the town of [[Cash, South Carolina|Cash, SC]]. This storm dissipated as it moved into [[Marlboro County, South Carolina|Marlboro County, SC]], and was followed by another F4, just to the southeast, and also in Marlboro County. This storm - a large, multiple-vortex tornado, struck the city of [[Bennettsville, South Carolina|Bennettsville]] before crossing into [[Scotland County, North Carolina]]. Ten minutes later, yet another F4 tornado was reported in Marlboro County, passing through more of Bennettsville, where the Northwoods Shopping Center and many neighborhoods were completely destroyed, before striking [[McColl, South Carolina|McColl, SC]] en route to the [[North Carolina]] state line. This multiple-vortex tornado also crossed part of Scotland County, and then [[Robeson County, North Carolina|Robeson County]] in North Carolina, striking [[Maxton, North Carolina|Maxton, NC]], and then [[Red Springs, North Carolina|Red Springs, NC]], where every building inside the city limits was damaged or destroyed. This trio of storms produced 11 deaths and 519 injuries; both Marlboro County storms left damage paths between near (or over) 2 miles in width in places, with at least 800 left homeless in Bennettsville.<ref>Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001). ''The Tornado'', page 203, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.</ref><ref>''Syracuse Herald-Journal'', Syracuse, New York. March 29, 1984, page 81.</ref> ==Eastern North Carolina== 11 additional tornadoes were subsequently reported in Eastern [[North Carolina]], between 7:00 P.M. and 10:30 P.M. F3 damage was recorded at [[Salemburg, North Carolina|Salemburg]], east of [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]], and F4 damage was noted at [[Mount Olive, North Carolina|Mount Olive, NC]] and in the [[Greenville, North Carolina|Greenville, NC]] area. 3 deaths and 149 injuries occurred in Mount Olive, where the downtown and portions of the [[Mount Olive College]] campus sustained severe damage. Another 16 deaths and 153 injuries were caused by the Greenville tornado, which swept through the south and southeast sections of town (along with portions of the [[East Carolina University]] campus) after producing severe damage in [[Greene County, North Carolina|Greene County]], [[Winterville, North Carolina|Winterville]] and [[Ayden, North Carolina|Ayden]]. The outbreak ended just south of the [[Chesapeake, VA]] area with additional strong tornadoes striking [[Ahoskie, North Carolina|Ahoskie]] and [[Gates County, North Carolina|Gates County]] in North Carolina; straight-line wind damage continued along a path into [[Chesapeake]]. ==Aftermath== Ultimately this outbreak was responsible for 57 deaths, 1248 injuries, and confirmed tornado damage in 2 counties in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], 8 counties in [[South Carolina]], and 17 counties in [[North Carolina]], according to data from the National Weather Service and the National Climatic Data Center records and statistical data. This was an unusual East Coast outbreak both in its' sustained intensity, and in some of its' meteorological specifics. It has been noted by Grazulis and other researchers<ref>Grazulis, Thomas P. (1991). ''Significant Tornadoes 1880-1989'', page 648, Environmental Films, St. Johnsbury, VT</ref> that this outbreak developed near the center of a large-scale low, in a fashion resembling the 1925 Tri-State tornado. In this outbreak, the damage path was attributed to separate tornadoes, though one storm produced (along a rough, 250+ mile track) a family of 13 large tornadoes - 10 of which produced F3 or F4 damage, which were occasionally linked by swaths of downburst damage. This outbreak was also part of a larger storm system that was responsible for producing severe weather across a much wider area of the eastern U.S. On the previous day, weaker tornadoes had been reported in scattered locations from [[Louisiana]] to [[Alabama]], and a thunderstorm-caused flash flood was suspected to be the cause of a train derailment in north [[Florida]]. The northern part of the same system first spawned additional severe (non-tornadic) thunderstorms, which caused 4 additional deaths in [[Maryland]] and [[Pennsylvania]], before then dropping snow, sleet and ice across a wide area of the northeast<ref>''Syracuse Herald Journal'', Syracuse, New York. March 29, 1984.</ref>. The thunderstorms which produced the tornado outbreak were also responsible (according to the same data) for numerous reports of large hail and wind damage in [[Appalachian]] southwest North Carolina, and numerous larger cities ([[Atlanta, GA]], [[Greenville, SC]], [[Columbia, SC]], [[Charlotte, North Carolina]], [[Fayetteville, NC]], [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], [[Suffolk, VA]], [[Norfolk, VA]]) at the periphery of the outbreak, with wind damage from thunderstorms reported as far north as [[Delaware]]. ==Notes== {{reflist}} == References == * Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001). ''The Tornado'', page 203, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. * [[Ted Fujita|Fujita, T.T.]], and Stiegler, D. (1985). "Detailed analysis of the tornado outbreak in the Carolinas by using radar, satellite, and aerial survey data. Preprints", ''14th Conference on Severe Local Storms'', Indianapolis. [[American Meteorological Society]], p. 271-274. * Kraft, Scott, and Timothy Harper. (April 1, 1984). "Wreckage, victims tell tornado's tale on 450-mile route", Associated Press. ''Syracuse Herald-American'', page 16, Syracuse, New York. ==See also== *[[List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks]] *[[Fujita scale]] {{DEFAULTSORT:Carolinas tornado outbreak}} [[Category:F4 tornadoes]] [[Category:Tornadoes of 1984]] [[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) tornadoes]] [[Category:South Carolina tornadoes]] [[Category:North Carolina tornadoes]] [[Category:1984 in the United States]]