Pickens County, South Carolina

What hazards hit Pickens County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 321 since 1960. 53% 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 Pickens County had?

NOAA records 35 tornadoes in Pickens County from 1961 to 2025, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 28 injuries recorded in the county. That is 5th of 46 South Carolina counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 35 tornadoes whose track touched Pickens County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 35, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Pickens 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 Pickens County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 27, 2024 flash flood ($282,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A stream gauge on the Saluda River in west Greenville indicated flash flooding developed along the river after 8-15 inches of rain fell across the foothills in three days, with 1.5 to 2.5 inches of that falling in less than three hours on the morning of the 27th. Multiple homes and structures were inundated and damaged on the Pickens County side of the river in east Easley, including on Shop Ct, Shady Acres Circle, Covenant Dr, and Easley Bridge Rd.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1218291)

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 Pickens 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?

53% 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 Pickens County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Pickens County: 9 major disasters, 14 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (11) and fire (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 Pickens County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 47 flood or flash flood records for Pickens County from 1996 to 2024, on 34 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Pickens County ranks 1540th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.7 million on 63 claims filed in Pickens County; the most in one year was 13 in 2024. 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 Pickens County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pickens County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $37.1 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 Pickens County

1. Greenville County 1,561
2. Anderson County 1,016
3. Oconee County 952
4. Pickens County 918
5. Transylvania County, NC 550

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 Pickens CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Pickens County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis