Lancaster County, South Carolina

What hazards hit Lancaster County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 285 since 1960. 40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 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 Lancaster County had?

NOAA records 13 tornadoes in Lancaster County from 1957 to 2020, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 6 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 13 tornadoes whose track touched Lancaster County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 13, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people, 0 of them in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 27, 2024 tropical storm ($753,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Many trees and power lines down. Some roads closed. Sections of the area were without power. A few structures damaged by falling trees. Lancaster County Airport measured a maximum sustained wind speed of 26 knots (30 mph) with a maximum gust of 42 knots (48 mph). Minor flooding occurred in some spots with maximum observed rainfall of 2.85 inches measured in a CoCoRaHS gage northeast of the town of Lancaster.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1210753)

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

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

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 Lancaster 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).

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

What time of year?

40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 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 Lancaster County

FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Lancaster County: 10 major disasters, 14 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (13) and tropical storm (2).

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 Lancaster County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 71 flood or flash flood records for Lancaster County from 2003 to 2026, on 24 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Lancaster County ranks 1851st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $514,000 on 34 claims filed in Lancaster County; the most in one year was 5 in 2015. 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 Lancaster County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lancaster County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $40.1 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 Lancaster County

1. Mecklenburg County, NC 1,047
2. York County 756
3. Union County, NC 630
4. Lancaster County 583
5. Kershaw County 547
6. Chesterfield County 512
7. Fairfield County 472
8. Chester County 433

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 Lancaster CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Lancaster County's FEMA declarations (CSV)24 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis