York County, South Carolina severe weather history spans 613 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #553 nationally and #16 in South Carolina.
613
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
21
Direct injuries
$36.3M
Property damage
The record
What the York County, South Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, York County, South Carolina severe weather history averages 8.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 191 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 69 events fall before 1990 and 544 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the York County, South Carolina record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $29.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in York County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 337 | 2 | $2.9M | 80 | 1967–2025 |
| Hail | 178 | 0 | $29.0M | 4 | 1955–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 0 | $539K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 25 | 3 | $3.3M | F2 | 1961–2024 |
| Lightning | 20 | 2 | $403K | 0 | 1996–2012 |
| Flood | 18 | 0 | $68K | 0 | 2000–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $102K | 0 | 1996–2016 |
Decade by decade
York 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
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-03-27 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 18.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-11-16 | EF2 | 3 | 5 | 5.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-09-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-08-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-12-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in York County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 2011 | Tornado | MC CONNELLS | 3 | 5 | $1.0M |
| Feb 6, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | BOYD HILL | 1 | 0 | $25K |
| Aug 29, 2006 | Lightning | YORK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 22, 2002 | Lightning | CLOVER | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 13, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | FT MILL | 1 | 0 | $3K |
| Mar 24, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Mar 15, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | BETHANY | 0 | 4 | $10K |
| May 24, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
EM reported a tree was blown down on a moving vehicle on Pleasant Rd in Fort Mill killing the 80-year-old female driver. Other trees were blown down in Rock Hill, including a large tree that fell across three parked vehicles on Park Ave.
Multiple sources reported an almost continuous swath of very large hail ranging from 2-inch diameter up to baseball size from the city of York through the city of Rock Hill. Intense downbursts producing wind gusts as high as 90 mph resulted in areas of wind-driven hail that produced extensive damage to structures and vehicles. The largest hail and most intense damage was in the city of Rock Hill, especially just south of the city center. Extensive roof damage, blown out windows, and facade/siding damage shredded by very large hail resulted in more than a dozen structures being considered a total loss. Hundreds of other structures experienced at least minor damage. Thousands of vehicles were damaged or destroyed. A few minor injuries also occurred.
National Severe Storms Lab relayed multiple public reports, corroborated by spotters and law enforcement, of up to golf ball size hail with a second severe thunderstorm that tracked from the city of York, across the north side of Rock Hill to near Tega Kay and Ft Mill.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
293,673
Population (ACS)
$361K
Median home value
22
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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in York County, South Carolina?
613 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 7 direct deaths and $36.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in York County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 337 recorded events — 55.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed York County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 22 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover York County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include York County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is York County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates York County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 89 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the York 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
- Williamsburg County 273
- Union County 351
- Sumter County 640
- Spartanburg County 1,079
- Saluda County 316
- Richland County 1,414
Cite this page
“York County, South Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-carolina/york-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.