Pickens County, South Carolina severe weather history spans 576 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #650 nationally and #19 in South Carolina.
576
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
37
Direct injuries
$12.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Pickens County, South Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pickens County, South Carolina severe weather history averages 8.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 163 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 59 events fall before 1990 and 517 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Pickens County, South Carolina record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $7.3M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Pickens County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 318 | 2 | $915K | 100 | 1960–2025 |
| Hail | 171 | 0 | $650K | 2.75 | 1961–2025 |
| Tornado | 35 | 0 | $7.3M | F2 | 1961–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 2 | $2.9M | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $11K | 0 | 1997–2006 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $511K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Lightning | 6 | 0 | $61K | 0 | 1997–2010 |
Decade by decade
Pickens 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
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 31 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-04-13 | EF3 | 1 | 5 | 16.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-03-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-13 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-10-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-08-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-01-07 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-03-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 23.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-11-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pickens County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | EASTATOE | 2 | 2 | $50K |
| Jan 8, 1998 | Flash Flood | PICKENS | 1 | 3 | $50K |
| Aug 7, 2013 | Flash Flood | CATEECHEE | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| Jan 5, 2007 | Tornado | LIBERTY | 0 | 15 | $50K |
| Apr 13, 2020 | Tornado | PUMPKINTOWN | 0 | 8 | $200K |
| Jan 8, 1998 | Tornado | EASLEY | 0 | 4 | $3.0M |
| Jun 5, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | SIX MILE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 2, 2003 | Tornado | EASLEY | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
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.
A car was swept away by flood waters on Silver Creek Road. The car and it's occupant, a 23 year old male, were found separately downstream. The occupant was killed and the car destroyed. Two other cars were swept away at this location with 4 passengers rescued.
Excessive rain fell just north of Pickens causing raging water flowing into a lake to wash out a road. Two cars drove into this washout around 2300 EST and then were swept into the lake, killing one young man and injuring three other people.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
134,629
Population (ACS)
$232K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Mar 23, 2025 | Fire | TABLE ROCK FIRE COMPLEX | FM |
| Mar 23, 2025 | Fire | TABLE ROCK FIRE | FM |
| Sep 29, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pickens County, South Carolina?
576 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $12.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pickens County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 318 recorded events — 55.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pickens County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 31 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pickens County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pickens County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pickens County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pickens County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 78 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pickens 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
- Orangeburg County 922
- Richland County 1,414
- Oconee County 612
- Saluda County 316
- Newberry County 584
- Spartanburg County 1,079
Cite this page
“Pickens County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/pickens-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.