60
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
105
Direct injuries
$22.8M
Property damage
Tornado in Horry County, South Carolina: 60 recorded events between 1955 and 2023. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #248 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Horry County, South Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Horry County is the 2010s, when 13 of the county's 60 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 Horry County archive, tornado makes up 5.9% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #248 for this hazard and #3 within South Carolina, putting it in the 91.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Sep is the peak month for tornado in Horry County with 13 recorded events, while Jan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-11-24 | EF3 | 3.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1965-08-17 | EF3 | 0.3 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-06 | EF2 | 4.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-11-07 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1985-06-02 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1984-03-28 | EF2 | 16.0 mi | 353 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-06-10 | EF2 | 6.0 mi | 133 yd | Crossed in |
| 1979-09-04 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 97 yd | Touched down here |
| 1968-12-07 | EF2 | 0.3 mi | 13 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-12-01 | EF2 | 14.3 mi | 93 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 1965 | F3 | 0 | 46 | $250K | |
| Jul 6, 2001 | MYRTLE BEACH | F2 | 0 | 39 | $8.0M |
| Mar 29, 1984 | F2 | 0 | 8 | $250K | |
| Aug 10, 1955 | F1 | 0 | 5 | $25K | |
| Mar 16, 1976 | F1 | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 11, 2020 | WHITE OAK | EF1 | 0 | 1 | $150K |
| Apr 23, 1997 | CONWAY | F1 | 0 | 1 | $20K |
| Dec 2, 1967 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 17, 2023 | STALVEY | EF1 | $200K |
| Aug 31, 2023 | CHERRY GROVE BEACH | EF0 | $0 |
| May 27, 2022 | LORIS | EF0 | $0 |
| May 27, 2022 | ALLEN | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2022 | TOMPKINS | EF0 | $0 |
| Oct 11, 2020 | RED HILL EAST | EF0 | $20K |
| Oct 11, 2020 | WHITE OAK | EF1 | $150K |
| Sep 25, 2020 | OCEAN FOREST | EF0 | $3K |
| Jan 13, 2020 | LORIS | EF0 | $200K |
| Oct 20, 2019 | MYRTLE RIDGE | EF0 | $25K |
Other hazards here
More from Horry County
- Thunderstorm Wind 401
- Hail 342
- Flash Flood 105
- Lightning 46
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
As a weak cold front moved south into an afternoon sea breeze boundary, slow-moving thunderstorms developed along the Horry county coast. An F0 tornado briefly touched down at 9th Ave N near the Myrtle Beach Pavilion, and soon after a waterspout formed just off the beach near 3rd Ave N. It slightly damaged the 2nd Ave N pier and then moved over the beach as it developed more strongly, causing F2 damage – overturned buses and extensive damage to vehicles and hotels along the beach to about 4nd Ave S. Moving off the beach again, the waterspout continued south about 100 yards from the shore until it came ashore between 28th Ave S and Springmaid Pier…causing a 66 knot gust over water at the Springmaid Pier anemometer. As it moved through the Seagate RV park, it did F1 damage – destroyed 10 RVs and damaged 40 more. Weakening further, the tornado crossed US Hwy Business 17 onto Myrtle Beach International Airport, doing F0 damage to trees and structures.
Estimated five tornado touchdowns ran a track in 10 minutes from near the Conway Raceway northeast along U.S. Highway 378 to Little River area on S.C. Highway 90. Major damage was done to 50 residental and five commercial buildings. Minor damage was done to 85 residental and 20 commercial. Hundreds of large trees were twisted and snapped.
A survey conducted by the National Weather Service concluded an EF-1 tornado first touched down near Adrian Highway, just east of Sabrina Lane and caused some minor tree damage. The tornado then moved nearly parallel to Adrian Highway and caused extensive tree damage and damage to numerous farm buildings and sheds. Power lines were also reportedly down in the area. As the tornado continued to move east, just east of Hucks Road, it snapped dozens of trees. Two homes sustained damage in this area, one of which had windows blown out. The tornado crossed Johnson Shelly Road and stayed just north of New Dawn Lane causing dozens of snapped trees. Near the intersection of New Dawn Lane and Highway 19, a small barn was destroyed and a large shed was completely damaged. The tornado continued east and crossed New Home Circle where it nearly toppled a single wide trailer and caused damage to a couple other trailers. The tornado lifted in a field just west of Gause Road after being on the ground for about 10 minutes and just under 5 miles. The tornado had estimated maximum winds of 110 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Horry County, South Carolina?
60 tornado events are recorded in Horry County between 1955 and 2023, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Horry County?
The strongest tornado on record in Horry County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Horry 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 Horry County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/horry-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.