This conversation was written by Madi Blanford, CHStoday’s digital media intern.
Each year between the months of June + November, hurricane season looms over the City of Charleston, threatening the Lowcountry with memories of Hugo and causing residents up + down the coast to stock up on water bottles, sandbags + plywood. By now, Charlestonians are hurricane preparedness professionals. However, 82 years ago this month, a different natural disaster swept through the city – the tornado. 🌪
Overturned car from the 1938 Charleston tornadoes | Image via Historic Charleston Foundation
On the morning of Sept. 29, 1938 , in the middle of hurricane season, five separate tornadoes touched down in Charleston County . That’s right: five separate tornadoes.
The first tornado made contact around 7:50 a.m., starting on Seabrook Island and traveling across the Ashley River before slamming into the Charleston peninsula. Exactly 10 minutes later, at 8 a.m., the second tornado wreaked havoc on Market + Broad St. Before 9 a.m., yet another tornado materialized, tearing through Sullivan’s Island . Thankfully, the following two tornadoes had very little impact as they kept to rural, uninhabited areas. But the first three caused irreversible destruction .
Uprooting trees + powerlines, overturning vehicles and demolishing nearly 200 buildings, these twisters cost the city around $2 million in damages , which would be about $36 million today . Tragically, the tornadoes took the lives of 32 people + injured many more, making this one of the deadliest storms to ever hit Charleston.
Interested in learning more about this terrifying + unusual event? The Lowcountry Digital Library has an entire collection of photos dating back to that fateful day as well as numerous interviews with Charleston-natives who experienced these tornadoes.
Quiz
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