South Carolina extreme cold
Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 28 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 223 extreme cold records in South Carolina from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 11 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 12, 1996 cold/wind chill in Greenville County: 2 deaths. South Carolina ranks 40th of 51 states and territories by count and 39th of 50 per square mile.
Extreme cold in South Carolina, 1996 to 2026
Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 2231996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 11average
- Deaths
- 223 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $122Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 202632 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are extreme cold records common in South Carolina?
South Carolina averages about 11 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 40th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2026 (32). Per 10,000 square miles of land, South Carolina records 74 extreme cold records since 1996, 39th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in South Carolina have the most extreme cold records?
Per square mile, Pickens County leads South Carolina: 18 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 36.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Greenville County has the most cold records (31 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the cold season in South Carolina?
44% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (50 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 50 · Feb 48 · Mar 42 · Apr 42 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 2 · Dec 39 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest extreme cold records in South Carolina?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-01-12 | Cold/Wind ChillGreenville County · forecast zone Greater Greenville Two young boys fell through the ice which developed on a pond following the persistant cold weather. Both died of hypothermia after they were rescued. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-12-25 | Cold/Wind ChillGreenville County · forecast zone Greater Greenville Cold weather was partly to blame for two fatalities (direct). An elderly man wandered away from home during the night and was found in a creek the next morning. An elderly woman turned the heat down to 50 degrees and died from hypothermia. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-12-23 | Cold/Wind ChillAnderson County · forecast zone Anderson Media reported two indirect fatalities associated with the cold in Anderson County, both on the north side of Anderson. One man died when a power outage attributed to the cold knocked out his oxygen machine. A 91-year-old man died due to exposure while attempting to repair a burst pipe. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2000-01-25 | Cold/Wind ChillAnderson County · forecast zone Anderson One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A man in Anderson county was found frozen to death early in the morning. Authorities believe he stumbled and fell overnight and that alcohol contributed to his death from hypothermia. An elderly woman in Greenwood county became disoriented sometime overnight and succombed to hypothermia. The low temperature overnight ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-01-13 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLancaster County · forecast zone Lancaster James H. Brown, 84 of 2709 Wyatt Brown Road died from sub-freezing cold after wondering outside and not returning. Deputies found his body around 9am Thursday morning about a mile from his home. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2026-02-02 | Cold/Wind ChillBeaufort County · forecast zone Beaufort The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported a fatality due to hypothermia. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillBeaufort County · forecast zone Beaufort One storm episode: 8 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. A winter storm impacted much of southeast South Carolina with significant snow accumulations on January 31st along with very cold wind chill temperatures persisting into late morning February 1st. An area of low pressure shifted off the Southeast Coast while deepening, ushering in a very cold air mass across the ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2010-12-06 | Cold/Wind ChillMarion County · forecast zone Marion A man was found dead outside his home in Mullins. The county coroner said the man's death was apparently due to hypothermia. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-02-03 | Cold/Wind ChillCharleston County · forecast zone Charleston Artic airmass encompassed entire CWA of NWSO CHS, causing record low temperatures. Also, this airmass produced measurable snowfall up to one inch in southeast Georgia. This unusual event contributed to numerous minor accidents. The slick roads and accidents caused some roads and bridges to be closed for a period of ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-02-21 | Cold/Wind ChillSpartanburg County · forecast zone Spartanburg A man died from exposure to the cold during the early morning. Alcohol was partly to blame. | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest extreme cold records in South Carolina
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-03-16 | Cold/Wind ChillAbbeville County · forecast zone Abbeville One storm episode: 15 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $60M | |
| 1996-03-08 | Cold/Wind ChillCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | $38M | |
| 2007-04-08 | Frost/FreezeSpartanburg County · forecast zone Spartanburg One storm episode: 13 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $24M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in South Carolina?
South Carolina's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | South Carolina | United States | South Carolina's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 44 | 5,539 | 0.79% |
| 2000s | 63 | 14,792 | 0.43% |
| 2010s | 54 | 18,162 | 0.30% |
| 2020-26 | 62 | 15,329 | 0.40% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent extreme cold records in South Carolina
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-02 | Cold/Wind ChillBeaufort County · forecast zone Beaufort | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillYork County · forecast zone York | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillUnion County · forecast zone Union | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillSpartanburg County · forecast zone Southern Spartanburg | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillGreenville County · forecast zone Southern Greenville | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillSpartanburg County · forecast zone Northern Spartanburg | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillLaurens County · forecast zone Laurens | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillGreenwood County · forecast zone Greenwood | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillPickens County · forecast zone Greater Pickens | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillOconee County · forecast zone Greater Oconee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillChester County · forecast zone Chester | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Next
- Pickens County: the county's whole recordThe South Carolina county with the most extreme cold records per square mile
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