Beaufort County, South Carolina severe weather history spans 856 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 67.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #237 nationally and #11 in South Carolina.
856
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
25
Direct injuries
$8.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Beaufort County, South Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Beaufort County, South Carolina severe weather history averages 12.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 285 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 39 events fall before 1990 and 817 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Beaufort County, South Carolina record is lightning, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is lightning, with $3.7M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Beaufort County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 575 | 0 | $999K | 100 | 1957–2025 |
| Hail | 133 | 0 | $1.0M | 2.75 | 1970–2025 |
| Lightning | 66 | 3 | $3.7M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 42 | 0 | $16K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 31 | 1 | $2.3M | F2 | 1956–2024 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2020–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2024 |
| Waterspout | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Beaufort 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
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 29 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-09-03 | EF2 | 1 | 4 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-11-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-04-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Beaufort County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 1998 | Tornado | FROGMORE | 1 | 4 | $360K |
| Jul 30, 2007 | Lightning | HILTON HEAD IS | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 26, 2002 | Lightning | DAUFUSKIE IS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 1998 | Lightning | HILTON HEAD IS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 17, 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | HILTON HEAD IS | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Apr 8, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | HILTON HEAD IS | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | BLUFFTON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 2025 | Lightning | FOREST BEACH | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thirteen homes were destroyed and another thirteen were heavily damaged, most of them were mobile homes. One mobile home was flipped in the air and smashed to the ground where a 66 -year old female was crushed to death. Numerous trees were snapped off 5 to 15 feet above the ground with others uprooted. The worse of the damage was concentrated in an area approximately 2.5 to 3 miles long across Fripp Island to near Morgan Island. The tornado then crossed the St Helena Sound and moved into Colleton County.
A National Weather Service (NWS) storm survey team determined that an EF-1 tornado occurred near Port Royal in Beaufort County. This tornado was likely part of the same storm that hit Parris Island just to the south. It began near 11th Street, between Paris and London Avenues, where it snapped several trees including one tree that hit a home on 11th Street. The tornado continued northward across 14th and 15th Streets, close to Paris Avenue. Many hardwood trees and large limbs were snapped in this area, which also took down some powerlines along Paris Avenue. The tornado then moved across the southern portion of Paris Avenue West, snapping more trees and limbs with some falling on a few homes and buildings. Finally, the tornado crossed Ribaut Road, ending just north of the intersection of Ribaut and Royal Palms Roads. All total, the tornado damaged at least 44 buildings in Port Royal and caused an estimated one million dollars in damage. The maximum strength of the tornado was estimated to be EF-1, with peak winds of 95 mph.
The Beaufort County Emergency Manager and the fixed airport base operator reported that sixty two planes sustained damage due to golf ball to baseball sized hail. Approximately ten percent of the planes were reported a total loss, twenty five percent were no longer air worthy, and the rest had repairable damage. In addition numerous cars sustained damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
195,289
Population (ACS)
$456K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 29, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| Sep 29, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Aug 5, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | EM |
| Aug 31, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDALIA | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Bluffton 131
- Beaufort 119
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Beaufort County, South Carolina?
856 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $8.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Beaufort County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 575 recorded events — 67.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Beaufort County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 29 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Beaufort County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Beaufort County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Beaufort County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Beaufort County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 97 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Beaufort 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
- Barnwell County 309
- Berkeley County 959
- Bamberg County 276
- Calhoun County 327
- Anderson County 860
- Charleston County 1,351
Cite this page
“Beaufort County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/beaufort-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.