South Carolina severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 46 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 16,518 severe thunderstorm wind events in South Carolina from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 488 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the March 28, 1984 thunderstorm wind in Laurens County: 3 deaths and 17 injuries across 4 records. South Carolina ranks 19th of 52 states and territories by count and 5th of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in South Carolina, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- 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
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 16,5181955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 488average
- Deaths
- 29300 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $112Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 20111,050 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 severe thunderstorm wind events common in South Carolina?
South Carolina averages about 488 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 19th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (1,050). Per 10,000 square miles of land, South Carolina records 5494 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 5th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, Lexington County leads South Carolina: 412 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 589.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Colleton County has the most thunderstorm wind records (954 since 1955); 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 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in South Carolina?
50% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (4,450 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 382 · Feb 363 · Mar 836 · Apr 1,447 · May 1,925 · Jun 4,450 · Jul 3,824 · Aug 2,036 · Sep 565 · Oct 189 · Nov 319 · Dec 182 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in South Carolina?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-03-28 | Thunderstorm WindLaurens County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (4, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 3 | 17 | – | |
| 2019-07-18 | Thunderstorm WindEastatoe, Pickens County County comms reported strong thunderstorm winds caused a home under construction to collapse on Waterlake Dr, killing two workers, and injuring two others. Several trees and power lines were also blown down in the vicinity. | 50 kt wind | 2 | 2 | $58K |
| 2012-08-19 | Thunderstorm WindMc Beth, Berkeley County Thunderstorm winds capsized a pontoon boat on Lake Moultrie near the Pinopolis Dam. Six people were thrown into the water. Law enforcement has confirmed one death (indirect) and five injuries (indirect). | 55 kt wind | 1 | 5 | $3K |
| 1996-03-15 | Thunderstorm WindGreer, Greenville County | 1 | 3 | $188K | |
| 2026-05-23 | Thunderstorm WindSt Paul, Clarendon County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A lingering stalled front remained in the forecast area 5/23, but a embedded shortwave in the general troughing pattern moved in during the afternoon and evening hours, leading to scattered convection to develop. The environment ahead of this shortwave was characterized by MLCAPE values over 2000 J/kg and effective ... | 35 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 2020-04-13 | Thunderstorm WindWalterboro Municipal Airport, Colleton County One storm episode: 15 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. A severe quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) moved through southeast South Carolina during the early morning hours of April 13, 2020 ahead of an approaching cold front. The environment ahead of the QLCS was unusually unstable for this time of day and year, with gulf moisture spreading upper 60 F to near 70 F ... | 60 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 2000-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindBallentine, Richland County Sheriff reported trees down. One man was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle. | 60 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 1991-05-05 | Thunderstorm WindSumter County | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 1989-06-16 | Thunderstorm WindRichland County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (2, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2013-07-04 | Thunderstorm WindThicketty, Cherokee County Multiple trees were blown down from the Thicketty community, across Gaffney to the Blacksburg area. One large tree limb fell on and killed a 34-year old man standing in front of his house on 7th St in Gaffney. | 50 kt wind | 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 severe thunderstorm wind events in South Carolina
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-06-14 | Thunderstorm WindCampobello, Spartanburg County | 60 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $11M |
| 2007-08-22 | Thunderstorm WindEhrhardt, Bamberg County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $7.8M |
| 1995-01-06 | Thunderstorm WindWestville And North, Kershaw County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (3, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 3 | $3.5M | |
| 2011-04-05 | Thunderstorm WindWoodfield, Richland County One storm episode: 13 records in 7 places, 2011-04-05 to 2011-04-06; the totals are the episode's. | 85 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3.0M |
| 2001-07-04 | Thunderstorm WindAnderson County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2.5M |
| 1999-09-15 | Hurricane Floyd · Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Sumter County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.0M | |
| 1994-03-27 | Thunderstorm WindClover, York County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (2, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 0 | $2.0M | |
| 2005-05-20 | Thunderstorm WindConway, Horry County | 78 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1.8M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 50 | 3,482 | 1.4% |
| 1960s | 132 | 10,124 | 1.3% |
| 1970s | 359 | 18,714 | 1.9% |
| 1980s | 966 | 39,604 | 2.4% |
| 1990s | 2,146 | 85,554 | 2.5% |
| 2000s | 3,690 | 129,990 | 2.8% |
| 2010s | 6,082 | 161,286 | 3.8% |
| 2020-26 | 3,093 | 126,815 | 2.4% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in South Carolina
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindPowdersville, Anderson County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindArial, Pickens County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-28 | Thunderstorm WindLancaster County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-28 | Thunderstorm WindLancaster Mills, Lancaster County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-28 | Thunderstorm WindBonham, Union County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| 2026-06-28 | Thunderstorm WindLando, Chester County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-28 | Thunderstorm WindSmith, York County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindReevesville, Dorchester County | 43 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindCross Keys, Union County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindLiberty, Pickens County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindWalhalla, Oconee County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindWoodside, Greenville County | 50 kt wind | 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.
Federal disaster declarations for severe thunderstorm wind events in South Carolina
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 5 declarations in South Carolina, 4 of them major disasters; the latest on May 1, 2020.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-05-01 | DR-4542 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds | 10 |
| 2020-03-17 | DR-4479 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 10 |
| 2015-10-03 | EM-3373 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 47 |
| 2004-09-15 | DR-1547 | Tropical Storm Gaston | 3 |
| 2000-01-31 | DR-1313 | Severe Winter Storm | 38 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Lexington County: the county's whole recordThe South Carolina county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in South CarolinaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Hail in South Carolina6,692 records
- Floods in South Carolina2,557 records
- Winter storms in South Carolina1,839 records