What the record says
On 8 April 1957, a tornado touched down near Kershaw, South Carolina. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 121.4 miles long and up to 150 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 4 people and injured 70.
- F4Fujita rating
- 4deaths
- 70injuries
- 121.4 mipath length
- 150 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and 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
- Cumberland County, North Carolina
- Hoke County, North Carolina
- Robeson County, North Carolina
- Sampson County, North Carolina
- Scotland County, North Carolina
- Chesterfield County, South Carolina
- Lancaster County, South Carolina
- Marlboro County, South Carolina
The start point was at 34.63, -80.58 and the end point at 34.95, -78.50 (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
- Hope Mills, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 4 deaths, 395 injuries, 40 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1957
- Overland Park, Kansas tornado20 May 1957, F5, 44 deaths, 207 injuries, 69.4 miles long
- Silverton, Texas tornado15 May 1957, F4, 21 deaths, 80 injuries, 17 miles long
- Carbondale, Illinois tornado18 December 1957, F4, 11 deaths, 200 injuries, 28.3 miles long
- Fargo, North Dakota tornado20 June 1957, F5, 10 deaths, 103 injuries, 52.4 miles long
- Gans, Oklahoma tornado22 January 1957, F4, 10 deaths, 20 injuries, 0.1 miles long
All tornadoes of 1957 · South Carolina tornado history · All notable tornadoes