799
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$2.2M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Lexington County, South Carolina: 799 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 96. That places the county #20 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Lexington County, South Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Lexington County is the 2010s, when 296 of the county's 799 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 Lexington County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 62.8% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #20 for this hazard and #3 within South Carolina, putting it in the 99.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Lexington County with 193 recorded events, while Oct 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 13, 2020 | ARTHUR | 55 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 30, 1998 | SWANSEA | 55 | 1 | 0 | $12K |
| May 6, 1999 | BATESBURG | 60 | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| May 8, 1998 | LEXINGTON | 50 | 0 | 2 | $15K |
| Nov 7, 1995 | Irmo | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2000 | CHAPIN | 60 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 21, 1989 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jul 2, 1986 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2026 | GASTON LEX CO ARPT | 52 | $0 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | ARTHUR | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2025 | KATHWOOD | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2025 | SPRINGDALE | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2025 | IRMO | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EDMUND | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | GASTON LEX CO ARPT | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2025 | GASTON LEX CO ARPT | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2025 | LEESVILLE | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2025 | POOLES XRDS | 52 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Lexington County
- Hail 302
- Flash Flood 77
- Tornado 49
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Straight Line Winds produced a damage path which began along Indian Summer Point and Libby Ariail Court along the north shore of Lake Murray. Several pine trees were uprooted or snapped landing on the roofs of a couple of homes. This resulted in significant damage to a covered porch on one home. The storm then moved northeast across the next cove producing additional tree damage near Old Lexington Road and Jake Meetze Road. The most significant damage occurred in The Cove subdivision. Several structures sustained minor to moderate damage due to downed hardwood and softwood trees up to 4 feet in diameter. There were also several public reports of trees down around the town of Chapin.
A northeast-southwest line of severe thunderstorms moved from eastward across central and eastern South Carolina. Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines between Abbeville and Antreville, in eastern Newberry County and northern Lexington County. This area of turbulent weather spawned a tornado in northwestern Richland County near northeast shore of Lake Murray. The tornado dipped down immediately east of Lake Murray and moved eastward to Broad River. Roofs were torn off apartments and one home near Ballentine. The storm caused extensive damage to trees, power lines and to homes in the immediate path of the tornado. There were many homes damaged, with a total damage of $10 million in Richland County. Storm left 29,000 homes without power.
Sheriff Dispatch reported numerous trees down and large limbs down across the town. Several homes were damaged. NWS Survey reported that the damage was due to a wet microburst which produced winds estimated to be around 90 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Lexington County, South Carolina?
799 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Lexington County between 1956 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Lexington County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Lexington County measured 96.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Lexington 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Lexington County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/lexington-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.