Hurricane Frances tornado outbreak

Hurricane Frances tornado outbreak
A weakening Hurricane Frances over the Florida Peninsula on September 5
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationSeptember 4–8, 2004
Tornadoes
confirmed		103 confirmed
Max. rating1F3 tornado
Duration of
tornado outbreak2		4 days
Fatalities0 fatalities, 13 injuries
Damage$5.305 million (2004 USD)[1]

1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

The Hurricane Frances tornado outbreak was a widespread tornado outbreak associated with Hurricane Frances that came ashore on eastern Florida on September 4–5, 2004. Outer bands from the hurricane and its remnants, when it moved across the Appalachian Mountains, produced one of the largest tornado outbreaks ever spawned by a tropical cyclone in the United States in terms of number of tornadoes confirmed since records were kept in 1950. In addition, it was the largest tornado outbreak in South Carolina history, with nearly half of the tornadoes in that state.[2]

At least 103 tornadoes were confirmed from September 4 to September 8 across the Southeast and Middle Atlantic States. However, Hurricane Beulah in 1967 and Hurricane Ivan, which affected western Florida less than two weeks after Frances, produced more tornadoes. Other tornadoes from a separate system were spawned in Iowa and Minnesota on September 5.[3] Most of the tornadoes were weak F0's and F1's but a few strong tornadoes were produced across the Carolinas. In particular, an F3 affected areas near Camden, South Carolina producing extensive damage.[4]

While the hurricane itself killed 49 including seven attributed directly to the storm, the tornadoes associated with Frances did not produce any direct fatalities.[5] However, 13 people were injured in South Carolina by the storm including five from an F2 in Chesterfield County[6] three others in Sumter County,[7] three in the Gadsden area in Richland County,[8] one near Camden in Kershaw County[4] and one in Jasper County.[9]

  1. ^ Storm Events Database, NOAA
  2. ^ A look back at the April 13, 2020 tornado outbreak, WLTX, April 13, 2021
  3. ^ Tornado History Project - Tornado Map
  4. ^ a b "NCDC: Event Details". Archived from the original on 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  5. ^ NCDC Storm Events-Select State Archived 2008-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "NCDC: Event Details". Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  7. ^ "NCDC: Event Details". Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  8. ^ "NCDC: Event Details". Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  9. ^ "NCDC: Event Details". Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-05-06.