South Carolina tornado and storm history
Tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, and severe storms recorded in South Carolina between 1950 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see the storms that came closest to it.
1,319
Tornado reports
32,809
Storm events
44
Hurricane reports
342
Deaths, all storms
Every tornado track in South Carolina
1,266 county track segments since 1950, coloured by rating. Zoom in and each path widens to its surveyed width. Tap one for the storm.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Tornadoes by decade in South Carolina
All tornado reports against only the strong ones (F2 and above). Averages are per year over the years the federal record covers completely — 1952, 1976 and 1993 are each missing whole months in NOAA’s own files and are left out.
| Decade | All reports | Strong (F2+) | All per year | Strong per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 38 | 12 | 4 | 1 |
| 1960s | 118 | 28 | 12 | 3 |
| 1970s | 90 | 32 | 10 | 4 |
| 1980s | 98 | 37 | 10 | 4 |
| 1990s | 234 | 43 | 26 | 5 |
| 2000s | 314 | 30 | 31 | 3 |
| 2010s | 179 | 20 | 18 | 2 |
The 2020s are left out because the decade is not finished. Reports are counted per county, so one tornado crossing a county line can appear more than once.
Significant recent events in South Carolina
Events with deaths, several injuries, $1M+ property damage, or tornadoes rated EF3 and up.
A broken line of thunderstorms formed along an outflow boundary and moved across the northern half of Lake Marion the evening of 5/23. Estimated winds from these thunderstorms were up to 35 kts. As these storms pushed across the lake, a women was fatally wounded from being struck…
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported a fatality due to hypothermia.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported a traffic accident related to winter weather conditions, resulting in a fatality.
The local criteria for an Extreme Cold Warning is temperature or wind chill of 10 degrees or less. A wind chill temperature of 10 degrees or less was ongoing at the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station (KNBC), the Beaufort WeatherSTEM site (1190W) and the Beaufort Weatherflow site (…
Widespread snow impacted the inland half of Colleton County. Snowfall accumulations generally ranged from a dusting up to 1.5 inches. The highest reported amounts were in the Walterboro area of 1 to 1.5 inches. However, Colleton County Emergency Management reported almost 40 snow…
Hampton County Emergency Management reported a multi-vehicle crash near mile marker 41 on Interstate 95 that resulted in 2 fatalities and 26 injuries, 10 of which required hospitalization. South Carolina Highway Patrol confirmed that the crash involved 13 total vehicles, includin…
A 38 year old male went into the water to rescue several people caught in a rip current in Pawleys Island, SC. He drowned during the rescue attempt.
Beaufort County Emergency Management reported that a one person drowned and several others were rescued from a rip current at Hunting Island State Park beach. The rip current occurred in front of the Hunting Island lighthouse.
SC Emergency Management and Irmo Fire Department report treating 20 individuals that were struck by lightning at Lake Murray Public Park in Lexington, SC. 18 of those 20 were transported to nearby hospitals. Those 18 people included 6 adults and 12 children. None of the injuries …
Sumter County coroner confirmed a 61 yr old man died from a heat stroke while umpiring a softball game at Patriot Park in Sumter. Nearby maximum air temperature was around 93 degrees Fahrenheit but field temperatures were unknown.
Record crest flooding occurred along the North Fork Edisto River as a result of heavy rain and upstream small pond and dam failures, causing several fatalities and damage to numerous structures in Orangeburg. The North Fork Edisto in Orangeburg rose from 7.00 feet at 12am EST on …
Widespread tree and power line damage throughout the county. Falling trees caused damage to structures across the county. At least 1323 homes sustained some level of damage including 35 destroyed and 326 with major damage. South Carolina Forestry estimated 4.3 million dollars in …
Widespread damage to trees and power lines across the county leading to widespread and extended road closures. Most of the county was without power for an extended period of time. Falling trees caused damage to structures across the county. At least 240 homes sustained some level…
Widespread tree and power line damage throughout the county. Many roads were closed and most of the county was without power for an extended period. Falling trees and wind damaged numerous homes and structures across the county. At least 42 homes sustained some level of damage in…
Widespread damage to trees and power lines. Many roads closed, some for extended periods of time. Large sections of the county without power for an extended period. Falling trees caused damage to structures across the county. At least 269 homes sustained some level of damage incl…
Counties and zones
Each county’s full storm history, with its event count. Some entries are National Weather Service forecast zones rather than civil counties.
Abbeville (386)
Abbeville and Laurens (1)
Aiken (886)
Allendale (315)
Anderson (1,016)
Bamberg (299)
Barnwell (337)
Beaufort (1,046)
Berkeley (1,033)
Calhoun (355)
Central Greenville (8)
Central Horry (12)
Central Orangeburg (16)
Charleston (1,975)
Cherokee (568)
Chester (421)
Chesterfield (524)
Clarendon (505)
Coastal Georgetown (36)
Coastal Horry (60)
Coastal Jasper (15)
Colleton (1,183)
Darlington (595)
Dillon (316)
Dorchester (957)
Edgefield (345)
Fairfield (472)
Florence (686)
Georgetown (431)
Greater Greenville (126)
Greater Oconee (113)
Greater Pickens (116)
Greenville (1,180)
Greenville Mountains (135)
Greenville and Spartanburg (1)
Greenwood (535)
Hampton (477)
Horry (1,077)
Inland Berkeley (59)
Inland Georgetown (18)
Inland Horry (15)
Jasper (590)
Kershaw (547)
Lancaster (557)
Laurens (671)
Lee (268)
Lexington (1,351)
Lexington and Richland (1)
Marion (364)
Marlboro (382)
Mccormick (251)
Newberry (633)
Northern Colleton (245)
Northern Greenville (48)
Northern Horry (6)
Northern Lancaster (9)
Northern Oconee (45)
Northern Pickens (47)
Northern Spartanburg (8)
Northwestern Orangeburg (8)
Oconee (617)
Oconee Mountains (131)
Orangeburg (956)
Pickens (579)
Pickens Mountains (132)
Richland (1,512)
Saluda (355)
Southeastern Orangeburg (9)
Southern Colleton (115)
Southern Greenville (63)
Southern Lancaster (17)
Southern Oconee (47)
Southern Pickens (44)
Southern Spartanburg (8)
Spartanburg (1,256)
Sumter (703)
Tidal Berkeley (27)
Union (470)
Union and Cherokee (1)
Union and Spartanburg (1)
Union, Spartanburg and Cherokee (1)
Williamsburg (308)
York (756)
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in South Carolina, measured to its path.
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