Chesterfield County, South Carolina severe weather history spans 454 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 56.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,048 nationally and #26 in South Carolina.
454
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
71
Direct injuries
$29.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Chesterfield County, South Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Chesterfield County, South Carolina severe weather history averages 6.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 189 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 50 events fall before 1990 and 404 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Chesterfield County, South Carolina record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $26.7M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Chesterfield County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 258 | 0 | $2.0M | 83 | 1958–2025 |
| Hail | 126 | 0 | $323K | 2.5 | 1962–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 38 | 0 | $88K | 5 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $26.7M | F4 | 1957–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $100 | 0 | 2013–2018 |
| Lightning | 2 | 1 | $50K | 0 | 2005–2011 |
Decade by decade
Chesterfield County, South Carolina severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-04-08 | EF4 | 4 | 70 | 121.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-03-28 | EF4 | 0 | 24 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-04-18 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 77.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-09-07 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-03-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-03-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-08-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-11-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Chesterfield County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2011 | Lightning | RUBY | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 28, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 24 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 8, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 16 | $250K | |
| Jan 25, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | THOMPSON | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Sep 8, 2004 | Tornado | MC BEE | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | CHERAW | 0 | 4 | $80K |
| Mar 29, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Nov 13, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An F1 tornado touched down near Teal Mill Pond and continued to the Technical College just west of Cheraw. Several homes and mobile had moderate damage. One mobile home was severely damaged. Several business near Cheraw had minor to moderate damage. Several out buildings were destroyed along with a couple of camper trailers. A power substation also sustained moderate damage causing power outages in the area. Numerous trees and powerlines were down.
Emergency Manager reported trees down around the county and in the town of Chesterfield. Some trees fell on vehicles and a few on homes. A garage door was ripped off a building and blown 300 yds away. Street flooding also occurred.
Sheriff departments in Lancaster, Chesterfield, Kershaw, and Fairfield counties reported considerable flash flooding in portions of their counties. Many streams were overflowing roads, bridges, and flooding low lying areas.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
43,784
Population (ACS)
$116K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Aug 5, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | EM |
| Aug 31, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDALIA | EM |
| Nov 21, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | DR |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Chesterfield County, South Carolina?
454 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $29.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Chesterfield County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 258 recorded events — 56.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Chesterfield County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Chesterfield County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Chesterfield County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Chesterfield County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Chesterfield County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 74 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Chesterfield County, South Carolina severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Chester County 321
- Clarendon County 474
- Cherokee County 417
- Colleton County 1,159
- Charleston County 1,351
- Darlington County 535
Cite this page
“Chesterfield County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/chesterfield-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.