Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Robeson; Bladen; Columbus; Inland Pender; Inland New Hanover; Inland Brunswick; Marlboro; Darlington; Dillon; Florence; Marion; Central Horry; Northern Horry
Florence County, South Carolina severe weather history spans 628 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 57.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #514 nationally and #15 in South Carolina.
628
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
49
Direct injuries
$50.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Florence County, South Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Florence County, South Carolina severe weather history averages 8.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 245 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 85 events fall before 1990 and 543 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Florence County, South Carolina record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $30.1M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Florence County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 361 | 0 | $1.6M | 75 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 149 | 0 | $30.1M | 4.5 | 1962–2025 |
| Tornado | 35 | 0 | $3.9M | F2 | 1953–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 2 | $3.7M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 26 | 0 | $10.1M | 0 | 2001–2024 |
| Lightning | 16 | 1 | $972K | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2024 |
Decade by decade
Florence 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
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-05-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-09-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-11-07 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-03-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-03-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-07-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-01-08 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 9.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-07-02 | EF1 | 0 | 9 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Florence County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8, 2016 | Flash Flood | CLAUSSEN | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Oct 8, 2016 | Flash Flood | KENNEDY XRDS | 1 | 0 | $100K |
| Sep 14, 1997 | Lightning | FLORENCE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 24, 1994 | Tornado | Lake City | 0 | 11 | $500K |
| Jul 2, 2013 | Tornado | (FLO)FLORENCE CITY-C | 0 | 9 | $88K |
| May 28, 1981 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25K | |
| Nov 7, 1995 | Tornado | Florence | 0 | 4 | $200K |
| Mar 15, 2008 | Tornado | CARTERSVILLE | 0 | 3 | $605K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Florence County Sheriff's Office Dive Team found a submerged vehicle at a bridge washout on National Cemetery Road Near Fire Tower Road. The car was found the next day. The lone male occupant was dead. The time was estimated.
Around 15 inches of rain fell over the course of a few days, sending the Lynches River out of its banks and it continued rising to a major flood. The river crested at 19.73 feet, the highest level since 1945, and the third highest ever. Over two hundred homes were inundated, with evacuations necessary. The town of Johnsonville also saw its share of flooding along the Lynches River.
A Storm Survey concluded a tornado moved through the Glendale community of Florence. The majority of damage was F1 with a path 1000 yards long and up to 150 yards wide. There was a small area (150 yards long 20 yards wide) of heavier F2 damage, with winds estimated at 120 mph. Sixty homes were damaged, six of which had major structural damage, largely due to snapped and uprooted trees. The Quinby area had penny to golfball size hail, with trees and power lines down. The Florence county tax assessor estimated the damage at 1.3 million dollars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
137,117
Population (ACS)
$178K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| 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 |
| Nov 21, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Florence 114
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Florence County, South Carolina?
628 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $50.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Florence County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 361 recorded events — 57.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Florence County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 37 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Florence County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Florence County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Florence County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Florence County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 90 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Florence 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
- Fairfield County 425
- Georgetown County 397
- Edgefield County 321
- Greenville County 1,176
- Dorchester County 801
- Greenwood County 417
Cite this page
“Florence County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/florence-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.