Sumter County, South Carolina severe weather history spans 640 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 66.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #494 nationally and #14 in South Carolina.
640
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
19
Direct injuries
$8.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Sumter County, South Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sumter County, South Carolina severe weather history averages 9.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 237 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 63 events fall before 1990 and 577 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Sumter County, South Carolina record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.8M 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 Sumter County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 423 | 1 | $1.6M | 75 | 1960–2025 |
| Hail | 138 | 0 | $560K | 3 | 1956–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 0 | $127K | 5 | 2001–2025 |
| Tornado | 28 | 1 | $4.8M | F2 | 1962–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $100 | 0 | 2017–2025 |
| Lightning | 7 | 0 | $1.7M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $4K | 0 | 2015–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2016 |
Decade by decade
Sumter 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
25 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-04-15 | EF3 | 1 | 5 | 19.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-07 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-09-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-11-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-09-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-09-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-05-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-09-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sumter County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 2007 | Tornado | PINEWOOD | 1 | 5 | $0 |
| May 6, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jun 5, 2006 | Hail | SUMTER | 0 | 9 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2004 | Tornado | SUMTER | 0 | 3 | $1.7M |
| Mar 19, 1992 | 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
An EF3 tornado traveled from southwest to northeast of Sumter destroying a seven mobile homes, severely damaging nine framed homes, and doing light to moderate damage to an additional 62 mobile and framed homes. There was 1 fatality and 3 injuries. The tornado touched down as an EF1 and ended as an EF3 where the fatality occurred at a mobile home on hwy 76.
A brief, but wide, EF-0 tornado associated with Hurricane Helene |began near Squaw Valley Road north of Wedgefield in Sumter County |at 532 AM. The tornado uprooted multiple trees and snapped large|branches as it moved north across Cane Savannah Rd and eventually|Route 76/378. It continued into a neighborhood causing additional|large tree damage, with a tree falling across Brookland Drive.|One home on Brookland Drive suffered damage from a large|tree falling on it, while other yards had multiple large limbs|snapped and/or trees uprooted. The tornado continued northwest|causing a large tree to uproot and fall across powerlines and|North Kings Highway which caused traffic delays. The tornado|turned slightly more northward where it uprooted trees and|snapped large limbs near the Beech Creek Golf Club before it|lifted around 538 AM.
The Sumter County Newspaper reported that the Sumter Opera House was struck by lightning which caused structural damage to the metal roof and building. Bricks from the four story structure were blown out of the building and into the parking lot and street.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
104,725
Population (ACS)
$165K
Median home value
28
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Sumter 207
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Sumter County, South Carolina?
640 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $8.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sumter County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 423 recorded events — 66.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sumter County?
25 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sumter County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sumter County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sumter County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sumter County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 82 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sumter 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
- Spartanburg County 1,079
- Union County 351
- Saluda County 316
- Williamsburg County 273
- Richland County 1,414
- York County 613
Cite this page
“Sumter County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/sumter-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.