Colleton County, South Carolina

What hazards hit Colleton County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 954 since 1961. 52% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1961 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among South Carolina's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Colleton County had?

NOAA records 34 tornadoes in Colleton County from 1953 to 2024, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 11 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 34 tornadoes whose track touched Colleton County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 34, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Colleton County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in South Carolina.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Colleton County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 18, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Colleton County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

High wind and dust storms in the 2020-26: 120 records against 31 in the decade before, 120 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Colleton County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

52% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1961 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Colleton County

FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Colleton County: 14 major disasters, 14 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (16) and tropical storm (3).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Colleton County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 83 flood or flash flood records for Colleton County from 1998 to 2025, on 43 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Colleton County ranks 394th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $7.2 million on 766 claims filed in Colleton County; the most in one year was 310 in 2016. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Colleton County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Colleton County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $37.8 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Colleton County

1. Charleston County 1,975
2. Colleton County 1,543
3. Beaufort County 1,086
4. Orangeburg County 989
5. Dorchester County 957
6. Hampton County 477
7. Allendale County 315
8. Bamberg County 299

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in South CarolinaEvery South Carolina tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in South CarolinaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The South Carolina recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Colleton CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Colleton County's FEMA declarations (CSV)28 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis