Greenwood County, South Carolina severe weather history spans 417 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 60.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,188 nationally and #28 in South Carolina.
417
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
31
Direct injuries
$20.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Greenwood County, South Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Greenwood County, South Carolina severe weather history averages 6.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 110 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 64 events fall before 1990 and 353 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Greenwood County, South Carolina record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $16.3M 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 Greenwood County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 252 | 0 | $537K | 75 | 1958–2025 |
| Hail | 110 | 0 | $2.8M | 2.75 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 20 | 2 | $16.3M | F4 | 1958–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $232K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 10 | 0 | $175K | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $266K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2000–2014 |
| Strong Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | 45 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Greenwood 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
18 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-03-31 | EF4 | 7 | 30 | 22.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-12-13 | EF4 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-12-13 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 10.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-12-13 | EF3 | 0 | 26 | 17.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-03 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 29.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1989-11-15 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-01-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-04-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-04-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Greenwood County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 1973 | Tornado | 2 | 0 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 13, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 26 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 13, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 30, 2001 | Lightning | GREENWOOD | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | WARE SHOALS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The combination of strong winds and hail up to golfball size damaged 507 structures in the far southern part of the county. Estimated damage in the form of broken windows, damaged roofs and siding was 2.8 million dollars. Most of the damage occurred between highways 221 and 25.
A second tornado path was found a couple of miles north of the main tornado track through Greenwood. This tornado began on Karlie Ct just off Laurel Rd. Once again, numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off. However, more structural damage was observed along this path. Several homes received minor to moderate roof damage. Siding and gutters were blown off a few homes as well. A home near the end of the path received the most significant, damage, with part of the roof completely blown off and and the collapse of an adjacent exterior wall. A storage trailer was also blown over in this area. Also, a tree fell across a train track on Emerald Rd, causing a train to derail.
After early morning flash flooding, rain rates moderated across the lower Piedmont, but flooding continued and gradually expanded, with high water conditions remaining in place throughout much of the 4th. At the height of the event, at least a dozen roads were closed due to urban/drainage flooding issues or due to lingering high flow conditions on small streams, especially in the city of Greenwood and surrounding areas. In addition to the flooding, the combination of saturated soils and winds gusting in excess of 20 mph caused numerous trees to fall throughout this period of time. Several trees fell on homes in the city of Greenwood.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
69,489
Population (ACS)
$181K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 29, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | 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
- Greenwood 128
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Greenwood County, South Carolina?
417 events are on record between 1958 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $20.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Greenwood County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 252 recorded events — 60.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Greenwood County?
18 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Greenwood County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Greenwood County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Greenwood County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Greenwood County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 73 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Greenwood 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
- Greenville County 1,176
- Hampton County 396
- Georgetown County 397
- Horry County 1,020
- Florence County 628
- Jasper County 483
Cite this page
“Greenwood County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/greenwood-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.