Darlington County, SC Tornado of September 29, 1999

A tornadic thunderstorm moved across Darlington County, South Carolina during the evening hours of September 29, 1999.

The storm developed ahead of a cold front which was approaching from the west. The first report of the tornado was received by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Wilmington, NC at approximately 8:40 PM EDT. The NWS issued a tornado warning at 8:45 PM.

The tornado that moved across Darlington county skipped up and down as it moved to the northeast. The first touchdown occurred over the western part of the county near Clyde with the final touchdown near the Darlington county airport north of Dovesville. Damage was reported near Highway 151 and Old Camden Road, on Lakeview Blvd., and near the Darlington Jetport on Dovesville Highway 52.

In all, 46 structures were damaged. Seventeen of these buildings were destroyed and another eight sustained major damage. Total damage was estimated to be over $225,000.

Radar reflectivity loop of the tornadic thunderstorm across Darlington County, SC during the evening hours of September 29, 1999.

Track of the Darlington County tornado. Damage was supportive of F1 intensity along its path.

Vertical wind profile from the doppler radar in Shallotte, NC. Strongly veered wind profiles in the lowest few thousand feet like this are supportive of supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Storm-relative Radial velocity image from the doppler radar near Shallotte, NC, showing rotation within the thunderstorm that led to the tornado in Darlington County.

Below is the text of the tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service in Wilmington, NC, as well as a local storm report summarizing damage reports received later that evening.




BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
845 PM EDT WED SEP 29 1999
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A
 
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN DARLINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
 
* UNTIL 920 PM EDT
 
* AT 845 PM EDT... LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO 23 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF FLORENCE OR 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BIRDSTOWN
  CROSSROADS... MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
 
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
        BIRDSTOWN CROSSROADS    AT 855 PM EDT
        AUBURN                  AT 855 PM EDT
 

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR OF A BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE...LAY
DOWN IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
1045 PM EDT WED SEP 29 1999
 
TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
 
0840 PM    CLYDE                     SC   TORNADO
09/29/99   DARLINGTON                     DARLINGTON COUNTY EOC
                                          REPORTED A TORNADO
                                          TOUCHDOWN IN THE PINE
                                          RIDGE SUBDIVISION NEAR HWY
                                          151 AND OLD CAMDEN
                                          ROAD...SEVERAL TREES DOWN
 
0850 PM    NORTH HARTSVILLE          SC   TORNADO
09/29/99   DARLINGTON                     DARLINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF
                                          REPORTED TRAILERS
                                          OVERTURNED ON LAKEVIEW
                                          BLVD
 
0905 PM    DOVESVILLE                SC   TORNADO
09/29/99   DARLINGTON                     DARLINGTON SHERIFF
                                          REPORTED TRAILERS
                                          OVERTURNED NEAR THE
                                          DARLINGTON JETPORT ON
                                          DOVESVILLE HWY 52