1944 – Apr 16, GA/SC tornado, GA (23), SC (2), esp. Royston (12), and Nuberg (10) GA–25

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-7-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

Georgia (Franklin, Hart, and Elbert counties)                  (23)

–23  Grazulis.  Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 265, 390, 503.

            –12  Royston

            –10  Newberg

            —  1  Sandy Cross

South Carolina (Abbeville and Newberry counties)          (  2)

–18  Grazulis.  Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 390, 503, 912.

            –02  Anderson, Abbeville Counties, SC.       (Grazulis 1993, p.902)

                        –2  Iva area

Grazulis:

 “GA-SC Apr 16, 1944  0030  25k  120inj  400y 40m  F4  Franklin/Hart/Albert, GA / Anderson/Abbeville, SC – Homes and farm machinery were swept away as a tornado moved E from Franklin Springs to the SE edge of Royston, north of Nuberg, and through Montevideo. Twenty-three people died in Georgia, and two died near Ava, South Carolina. Over 100 homes were destroyed. Twelve people were killed at Royston, including five in one family. Ten died in the Nuberg area and one person died near ‘Sandy Cross.” $1,000,000.” (1993, p. 912.)

Newspaper

April 17: “Roaring Twister Hit South Carolina And Georgia Yesterday. Twenty-One Deaths Tabulated in Royston, Ga. – 100-Mile Path of Destruction.

“Atlanta, April 16. – At least forty persons were killed and more than 500 others were injured by a night tornado that cut a 100-mile path of destruction across northeast Georgia and Western South Carolina today. Property damage, unestimated, was considered high. Georgia was hit hardest. Ahe Associated Press and Red Cross tabulated 21 deaths in Georgia – 12 in the Royston area and nine in Hart county, where eight of them died in the Nuburg community.

“Nineteen persons were reported killed in South Carolina.

“The twister, moving erratically in advance of severe rain squalls and electrical disturbances, apparently struck first near Gainesville, Ga. That is the scene of another spring tornado in 1936 that killed 185 persons. Two homes were demolished near Gainesville, but only four persons were hurt.

“About 100 injuries were reported in the vicinity of Royston. More than a score of houses were destroyed, one killing a family of five.

“Eight died and 150 others were injured at Greenwood, S.C., and its vicinity. Greenwood’s two-story city hospital was virtually demolished but no patients were hurt. Four were killed and a score more injured at Abbeville, S.C. Two died at Iva, S.XC. The Red Cross reported four deaths and 12 others injured at Prosperity, S.C., and Sligh’s in Newberry county, S.C. About 12 homes and buildings were leveled there, One was killed at Little Mountain, S.C. ….” (Lincoln Times, NC. “40 Killed: 500 Injured In Tornado.” 4-17-1944, p. 1.)

Sources

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

Lincoln Times, NC. “40 Killed: 500 Injured In Tornado.” 4-17-1944, p. 1. Accessed 4-7-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-times-apr-17-1944-p-1/