Tornado in Olanta, SC on April 19, 2019

A National Weather Service meteorologist surveyed the damage path near Olanta, SC and determined the tornado was on the ground for 0.6 miles, crossing Woods Bay Rd.

At 3:00 p.m. on Friday April 19, 2019, a weak tornado touched down in southwestern Florence County, SC near the town of Olanta. This tornado was on the ground for approximately 0.6 miles and had maximum wind speeds around 80 mph, making this an EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Damage occurred to two structures and to a number of trees along Woods Bay Road before the tornado lifted in Douglas Swamp. No injuries were reported with this storm.

This tornado was part of a significant severe weather outbreak across the Southeast that resulted in hundreds of reports of wind damage. Measured thunderstorm wind gusts reached 64 mph in Fayetteville, NC; 63 mph in Sumter, SC; 61 mph at Hilton Head, SC; and 60 mph in Orangeburg, SC. National Weather Service offices collected a large number of storm reports during the event, all available here: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/190419_rpts.html

Other tornado touchdowns were reported from Florida into Virginia, including one tornado with a seven mile long path near Lincolnton, NC that injured one person.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
233 PM EDT SAT APR 20 2019

...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 04/19/19 OLANTA SC 
TORNADO EVENT...

.OLANTA SC TORNADO EVENT...

START LOCATION...NEAR OLANTA IN FLORENCE COUNTY SC
END LOCATION...NEAR OLANTA IN FLORENCE COUNTY SC
DATE...APR 19 2019
ESTIMATED TIME...3:00 PM TO 3:02 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF-0
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...80 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...30 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...0.6 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...33.9314/-79.9557
ENDING LAT/LON...33.9386/-79.9517
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

...SUMMARY...
THE BRIEF EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN SOUTH OF WOODS 
BAY RD AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 31 NEAR OLANTA, SC. THE 
TORNADO MOVED TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST AND PRIOR 
TO CROSSING WOODS BAY RD CAUSED MINOR DAMAGE TO A 
HOUSE, LIFTED A LARGE ROOF OFF OF A LARGE 
OUTBUILDING AND SHED, AND CAUSED SEVERAL TREES TO 
BE UPROOTED. THE TORNADO CROSSED WOODS BAY RD 
CAUSING SOME DAMAGE TO TREES AS IT LIFTED IN THE 
VICINITY OF DOUGLAS SWAMP.

EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES 
TORNADOES INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WEAK......65 TO 85 MPH
EF1...WEAK......86 TO 110 MPH
EF2...STRONG....111 TO 135 MPH
EF3...STRONG....136 TO 165 MPH
EF4...VIOLENT...166 TO 200 MPH
EF5...VIOLENT...>200 MPH

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS 
PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING FINAL 
REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN NWS STORM 
DATA.

$$

PFAFF

Four panel display of radar/satellite data from the Olanta tornado of April 19, 2019. The loop begins as the tornado touches down. Top left is radar reflectivity, top right is storm-relative velocity, bottom left is visible satellite, and bottom right is infrared satellite.

Long radar/satellite loop showing the severe thunderstorms of April 19, 2019. The most significant storms occurred during the afternoon at the beginning of the radar loop. Later showers and thunderstorms during the evening were not nearly as strong but did drop significant rainfall along the coast.

The NWS Storm Prediction Center issues severe weather outlooks in the days leading up to an anticipated severe weather event. Their outlook issued early in the morning of April 19 accurately predicted the areas that would later that day be affected by severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

From https://twitter.com/NWSSPC/status/1119623533779456002

Page Author: Tim Armstrong
Page Created: April 20, 2019
Last Updated: April 20, 2019