It first touched down roughly 11 mi (18 km) northeast of Aiken and remained on the ground almost unceasingly until it entered southern Lee County.
The tornado passed near Edmund and traversed the Congaree River approximately 9 mi (14 km) south of Columbia, which reported its most destructive incident, at the time, of large hail on record.
Near Adams Pond, south of Columbia, the tornado, described as being "blue-black" and "of great proportions", was 1,400 yd (1,300 m; 1.3 km) wide.
About 2 mi (3.2 km) southwest of Horrell Hill, the tornado may have produced its worst damage as it narrowed to just 500 yd (460 m) in width.
After passing near Horrell Hill, the tornado bent to the northeast before crossing the Wateree River into Sumter County.
After killing 53 people, injuring 534, and leveling more than 1,300 structures—most of which were insubstantial in size—the tornado finally dissipated 5 mi (8.0 km) north of Timmonsville.