The date March 29, 1984 may not stick out in the minds of many people, but for people in North and South Carolina it is a day that will never be forgotten. On March 29, 1984 there were 29 confirmed tornadoes with 57 fatalities and 1,249 people injured. The tornadoes that day changed many lives in the Carolina’s and caused millions of dollars in property damage. That day there were multiple F3 and F4 tornadoes, as well as many smaller tornadoes.
The day started out as a rather warm windy March day with temperatures reaching into the 80’s. A warm front pushing from the southeast with high instability in the atmosphere created a dangerous situation for severe weather and tornadoes on that day. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch and upgraded the outlook for that day to a “High Risk”, which set the stage for what they believed was to come later that day. Thunderstorms began that evening in South Carolina between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. and continued to strengthen into the evening and night hours.
Ware Shoals and Laurens County, SC: Up to 50 injuries with F1 and F2 tornado touchdowns between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m.
Town of Newberry, Newberry County, and Fairfield County, SC: F2 and F3 tornadoes between 5:00 and 5:40 p.m. caused two deaths and 50 injuries along with $14 million in property damage. Downtown Newberry, SC “looked like a war zone.”
Lancaster, Kershaw, and Chesterfield Counties, SC: Four tornadoes occurred (one F2 and three F4 twisters) in a line across the Eastern Piedmont into the Sandhills of northern South Carolina. There were six deaths and over 100 injuries across the Winnsboro, Kershaw and Cash communities. Extensive forested areas were damaged in the Sandhills NWR.
Union County, NC: Ten miles north of Monroe a tornado (F1) touched down briefly. One mobile home and one garage were destroyed and two mobile homes were damaged. No one was injured.
Marlboro, Scotland, Robeson and Cumberland Counties: Between 6:40 and 7:40 p.m. two F4 tornadoes tore long paths across the area, killing 12 people and injuring 495. One tornado affected mainly Marlboro County with significant damage around Bennettsville, SC. After hitting McColl, SC, the second tornado (a monster F4) crossed into NC and continued along the ground for 35 miles before lifting in Southern Cumberland County. The storm hit Maxton at 7:30 p.m. EST and Red Springs 10 minutes later. This tornado was 2.5 miles wide at one point. The storm killed 3 and injured 280 in Robeson County alone, mainly in Maxton and Red Springs. Damage exceeded $500,000.
Bladen, Cumberland, and Sampson Counties: A tornado (F3) touched down 5 miles northeast of Tobermory in northwestern Bladen County and travelled along the ground through Cumberland and Sampson counties. The path was 0.8 miles wide and 40 miles long. The tornado struck the community of Beaver Dam, the town of Salemburg, rural areas of Roseboro, and rural areas near Clinton. This tornado killed 12 and injured 101 people as it moved at nearly 60 miles per hour. Damage exceeded 5 million dollars.
Nash County: A tornado (F2) touched down between Rocky Mount and Interstate 95. It moved northeastward doing considerable damage to the settlement of West Mount. The path length was 2 miles and the width was around 0.1 miles. No injuries were reported but damage exceeded $500,000.
Sampson, Duplin, Wayne Counties: Five miles northeast of Clinton in central Sampson County an F4 tornado touched down and moved northeast through northwestern Duplin County. The funnel lifted after crossing into Wayne County. This tornado hit the towns of Faison, Calypso, and Mt. Olive where the campus of Mt. Olive College was damaged, killing 3 people and injuring 149. The tornado was 0.8 miles wide and the path length was 21 miles long. Property damage estimated exceeded $5 million.
Wayne and Lenoir Counties: An F3 tornado touched down in extreme southeastern Wayne County and moved northeast at 45 mph into Lenoir County. The funnel lifted before reaching La Grange. This tornado’s path was 0.3 miles wide and 9 miles long. Damage exceeded $5 million and 81 people were injured.
Lenoir, Greene and Pitt Counties: Just northeast of La Grange, an F4 tornado touched down and moved northeast crossing eastern Greene and central Pitt counties. The storm passed just east of Greenville but caused damage to suburbs and a portion of the East Carolina University campus. The path was 38 miles long and 0.7 miles wide. This tornado hit rural areas near Snow Hill and Greenville, plus the towns of Ayden and Winterville. Sixteen people were killed and 153 were injured. Property damage exceeded $5 million.
Bertie County: An F3 tornado touched down just west of Lewiston and moved northeast destroying a mobile home park. There were 19 injuries and 6 fatalities, five of whom were members of the same family. The storm’s path was 6 miles long and about a half mile wide.
Bertie and Hertford Counties: In extreme northern Bertie County an F2 tornado touched down and crossed into Hertford County. The tornado travelled northeast to almost Ahoskie at which point it dissipated. The path was 5 miles long and 0.3 miles wide. Seven people were injured and damage exceeded $500,000.
Hertford County: An F1 tornado touched down near Harrellsville and travelled along the ground for 1 mile. The 0.1 mile wide funnel injured no one but did more than $500,000 in damage.
Gates County: A tornado touched down near the Chowan River south of Gatesville and travelled northeast for 14 miles across the southern portion of the county. Nine homes and seven mobile homes were destroyed, and 39 homes were damaged. This F3 tornado was a half mile wide and caused 2 deaths and 10 injuries.
Horry County, SC: into Columbus County, NC: An F2 tornado touched down north of Conway, South Carolina and moved northeast into Columbus County at Tabor City. This path width was 0.2 miles and the path length was 16 miles, only 2 miles of which actually occurred in North Carolina. There were eight injuries in South Carolina and none in North Carolina. Damage exceeded $500,000.
Chowan and Perquimans Counties: An F2 tornado began as a waterspout in the Albemarle Sound. It moved onshore in southern Chowan County and crossed into southern Perquimans County where one person died and one was injured. The path of this tornado was 6 miles long and 0.1 miles wide. Damage was mostly light.
