46
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$8.6M
Property damage
Lightning in Horry County, South Carolina: 46 recorded events between 1996 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #51 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Horry County, South Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Horry County is the 2000s, when 14 of the county's 46 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, lightning makes up 4.5% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #51 for this hazard and #3 within South Carolina, putting it in the 97.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Horry County with 19 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 1998 | NIXONS XRDS | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 15, 2016 | GARDEN CITY | 0 | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2016 | OCEAN DRIVE BEACH | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2012 | MYRTLE BEACH | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 19, 2007 | CONWAY | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 21, 2000 | LORIS | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 1999 | WAMPEE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2026 | BUCKSVILLE | — | $5K |
| Jul 31, 2025 | CAUSEY | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 27, 2024 | LITTLE RIVER | 0 | $4K |
| Jun 27, 2024 | CHERRY GROVE BEACH | 0 | $3K |
| Aug 8, 2023 | BURGESS | 0 | $1K |
| Jul 31, 2023 | PINE IS | 0 | $1.0M |
| Jul 21, 2023 | HAND | 0 | $1.0M |
| Jul 5, 2023 | NIXONVILLE | 0 | $5.0M |
| Jul 3, 2023 | JALUCO | 0 | $1K |
| Aug 8, 2020 | GREEN SEA | 0 | $5K |
Other hazards here
More from Horry County
- Thunderstorm Wind 401
- Hail 342
- Flash Flood 105
- Tornado 60
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning struck the Garden City Baptist Church early Sunday morning June 28th, setting it on fire. Half the church was burning, along with part of another building, before the fire fighters arrived. It took five hours to extinguish the blaze, and the church was destroyed. A fireman injured his ankle in the event.
Lightning struck a tree at the Man O' War Golf Club in Myrtle Beach, catching it on fire. The strike traveled down the trunk and underground, where it damaged golf course irrigation water lines. No injuries or other damage.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Horry County, South Carolina?
46 lightning events are recorded in Horry County between 1996 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Horry County?
The strongest lightning on record in Horry County measured 0.
Where does the lightning 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
“Lightning in Horry County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/horry-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.