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Marlboro County, South Carolina severe weather history spans 322 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 67.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,651 nationally and #34 in South Carolina.
322
Recorded events
10
Direct deaths
219
Direct injuries
$53.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Marlboro County, South Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Marlboro County, South Carolina severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 118 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 282 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Marlboro County, South Carolina record is tornado, responsible for 9 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $51.1M 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 Marlboro County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 218 | 0 | $1.4M | 91 | 1957–2025 |
| Hail | 61 | 0 | $8K | 1.75 | 1962–2024 |
| Tornado | 15 | 9 | $51.1M | F4 | 1955–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 1 | $902K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2010 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $111K | 0 | 1998–2001 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $7K | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Marlboro 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: 14 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-03-28 | EF4 | 7 | 100 | 17.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-03-28 | EF4 | 4 | 395 | 40.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-08 | EF4 | 4 | 70 | 121.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-04-18 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 77.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-12-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-08-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-03-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Marlboro County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1984 | Tornado | 7 | 100 | $25.0M | |
| Mar 29, 1984 | Tornado | 2 | 115 | $25.0M | |
| Aug 4, 1996 | Flash Flood | BENNETTSVILLE | 1 | 0 | $100K |
| May 15, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Apr 27, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | BENNETSVILLE ARPT | 0 | 1 | $55K |
| May 24, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A few very strong microburts caused widespread damage near the city of|Wallace SC. The width of the entire damage area is approximately 2 to 3 |miles wide and 4 to 5 miles long. All of the damage was aligned nearly|unidirectional at every location damage was observed. The near straight |line swath of damage coupled with evidence of a very wide swath of damage |was indicative of microbursts in this event. ||Most of the winds within this area ranged from 65 to 85 mph with several |locations of 90 to 110 mph winds. Several homes were impacted with roofs |blown off, and an unanchored single wide mobile home was flipped off its |foundation. In addition, hundreds of softwood and hardwood trees|were either snapped or uprooted across a wide area. The most intensive|damage appeared in three areas including: Grants Mill Rd W near Hwy 9|east of Wallace, the Garden Rd area near Old Wire Rd., and along sections|of Hwy 177 northeast of Wallace.
Crooked Creek was out of its banks and caused considerable flooding in the town of Bennettsville. Flood waters did impact some homes in town. Evacuations were reported to include the communities of Richardson Park and Shady Rest. The time was estimated.
A 40 x 60 foot section of roof was blown off a large metal warehouse of a Flakeboard MDF Plant on Highway 912. A trailer was blown off its foundation at the plant. The rear window of a pickup truck was shattered. One person was trapped between a trailer and metal beam and suffered a broken arm. National Weather Service personnel estimated a wind gust to 95 mph caused the damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
25,975
Population (ACS)
$82K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| 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 |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Marlboro County, South Carolina?
322 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 10 direct deaths and $53.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Marlboro County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 218 recorded events — 67.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Marlboro County?
18 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Marlboro County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Marlboro County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Marlboro County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Marlboro County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 57 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Marlboro 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
- Marion County 319
- Newberry County 584
- McCormick County 225
- Oconee County 612
- Lexington County 1,273
- Orangeburg County 922
Cite this page
“Marlboro County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/marlboro-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.