44
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
23
Direct injuries
$6.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Aiken County, South Carolina: 44 recorded events between 1961 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #513 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Aiken County, South Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Aiken County is the 2000s, when 15 of the county's 44 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Aiken County archive, tornado makes up 5.4% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #513 for this hazard and #5 within South Carolina, putting it in the 82.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Aiken County with 10 recorded events, while Jun is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-05-07 | EF3 | 12.0 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 2020-04-13 | EF3 | 37.9 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
| 2009-04-10 | EF3 | 14.6 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1955-03-13 | EF2 | 9.9 mi | 133 yd | Crossed in |
| 2022-04-05 | EF2 | 5.7 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-04-19 | EF2 | 19.5 mi | 660 yd | Touched down here |
| 2012-02-24 | EF2 | 9.2 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2008-03-15 | EF2 | 25.5 mi | 1,760 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-01 | EF2 | 1.5 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-03 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 2009 | BEECH IS | EF3 | 0 | 14 | $5.0M |
| Feb 24, 1961 | F1 | 0 | 5 | $25K | |
| Feb 25, 1961 | F1 | 0 | 2 | $3K | |
| Apr 5, 2022 | NEW HOLLAND XRDS | EF2 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 7, 1995 | Monetta | F2 | 0 | 1 | $460K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2025 | GLOVERVILLE | EF1 | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2023 | WAGENER | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2022 | NEW HOLLAND XRDS | EF2 | $0 |
| Apr 13, 2020 | ELLENTON | EF3 | $0 |
| Feb 6, 2020 | VAUCLUSE | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 3, 2019 | MONETTA | EF1 | $2K |
| Apr 3, 2017 | MONETTA | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 3, 2017 | AIKEN | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 19, 2015 | GLOVERVILLE | EF2 | $0 |
| Feb 24, 2012 | SEIVERN | EF2 | $240K |
Other hazards here
More from Aiken County
- Thunderstorm Wind 516
- Hail 206
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The supercell coming out of Richmond county GA spawned another tornado in Aiken county that did widespread damage. Many homes and business were severely damaged. Numerous trees and powerlines were down and there were around a dozen minor injuries. The tornado tracked along hwy 278. There was also one indirect death of a man who crashed trying to avoid trees on the highway and was killed.
NWS storm survey confirmed an EF2 tornado touched down north of Wagener near the Aiken/Lexington county line. A two story home that was built up off the ground was destroyed and a brick home was severely damaged. Other homes also suffered damage. Many trees were down as well.
NWS Storm Survey Team and SRS Emergency Management confirmed an EF0 tracked through the Savannah River Site taking down trees and overturning a few outbuildings. Damage was mainly in the woods and along a couple of roads.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Aiken County, South Carolina?
44 tornado events are recorded in Aiken County between 1961 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Aiken County?
The strongest tornado on record in Aiken County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Aiken County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Aiken County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/aiken-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.