Abbeville County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Abbeville County: 7.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Abbeville$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began across upstate South Carolina during the early afternoon of the 4th, and had spread into the eastern piedmont by mid afternoon. Resultant damage due to ice accumulation began during the mid-to-late afternoon. The intensity of the freezing rain increased after midnight, and by dawn on the 5th, devastating ice accumulations of 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches were observed, with the hardest hit areas being along the I-85 corridor, from Anderson, to Greenville-Spartanburg, to Gaffney. Hundreds of thousands lost power, and the outages lasted for as long as 2 weeks in some areas.

2. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Abbeville$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 70 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 80 mph.

3. Jan 2, 1999Ice Storm, Abbeville$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A shallow cold arctic airmass in place ahead of a developing storm system in the southern Plains set the stage for a significant ice storm for most of the Upstate during the evening of the 2nd. Patchy sleet began during the late morning and became more widespread and heavier during the afternoon - mixing at times with freezing rain. Sleet accumulated to nearly one inch across the foothills before changing to freezing rain in the early evening. Freezing rain continued through the evening, heavy at times and accumulated to damaging levels. Downed trees and power lines caused widespread power outages, totalling 160,000 across the Upstate. Much of the damage to homes was due to ice…

4. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS survey found an extensive area of damage in the city of Abbeville consistent with a strong EF2 tornado. The tornado began near the intersection of highway 71 and Rock Hill Rd before moving east/southeast through the city of Abbeville. The main areas affected in the city were Church Street, McGowan, Ave, Main St, and especially Secession Ave. The roofs were blown off about a half dozen frame homes in the city, while numerous mobile homes were heavily damaged or destroyed. A few other office buildings and businesses received major roof damage in this area. Numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted along the path. One tree fell through a home, injuring the man inside. Another…

5. Jun 24, 1996Lightning$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small complex of severe thunderstorms developed along the Georgia/South Carolina border and moved east. Large hail fell in southern Anderson county and winds from the storms blew down a house under construction west of Laurens. Trees and power lines were downed in Greenwood and lawn furniture at a discount store was tossed around by the wind and damaged. Large hail shredded awnings in town.Lightning started a fire at a chicken house in Antreville. One chicken survived; 59,999 chickens died.

6. Jul 7, 1999Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A church outside the city limits of Abbeville was destroyed by a fire sparked by lightning. The church was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1979.

7. May 3, 2021Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the path of a significant tornado that began just of Russel Lake on Harpers Ferry Rd. Damage was initially limited to downed trees and limbs as the tornado moved east northeast. The first structural damage occurred along Tater Hill Rd, where several outbuildings were heavily damaged and a man was injured when he was thrown from his back porch. The tornado continued east northeast from there, entering a heavily wooded area and crossing a finger of Russell Lake before emerging on Highway 81 just south of Tom Young Bridge Rd. Damage was limited to sporadic tree damage along this section of the path. The tornado remained weak as it continued east before…

8. Apr 8, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A warm front moving north across the Upstate brought a more humid and unstable airmass into the region and provided the focus for strong to severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon and into the early evening. A couple of the storms exhibited supercell characteristics and produced a considerable amount of large hail, ranging in size between golf balls and tennis balls. A dispatcher drove through one of the severe storms just west of Abbeville and had her car damaged by golf ball size hail. Damaging straight line winds were also reported which blew down trees and power lines near Seneca. A mobile home was blown over in West Pelzer and caused a woman to sustain broken ribs and…

9. Dec 15, 2005Ice Storm, Abbeville$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice accretion reached damaging levels across the lower piedmont shortly before sunrise. Numerous trees fell and power outages were widespread (approx 50,000 in Anderson County alone.) Many trees and large limbs fell on and damaged homes and vehicles. There were 4 deaths resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning due to generators operating indoors in Anderson county, including an elderly couple in Honea Path, a man in Anderson, and a man in Starr (all indirect). As temperatures hovered around freezing, and as ground temperatures were warm, there were very few road problems.

10. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees were blown down along Old Calhoun Falls Rd. Part of the roof of a home was also severely damaged, and some siding was torn off. A tree fell through the roof of another home.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

111°FSep 8, 1925

All-time low

−2°F4 times, most recently Jan 22, 1985

Warmest night

86°FJun 27, 1949

Coldest day

20°FJan 28, 1986

Wettest day

7.80 inJul 17, 1991

Snowiest day

7.0 in2 times, most recently Mar 25, 1983

Hottest year

1945mean 64.9°F

Coldest year

1997mean 58.9°F

Wettest year

196471.77 in

Driest year

202425.00 in

Snowiest season

11.5 in1935-36

Station Calhoun Falls (USC00381277), 530 ft elevation, 14.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1917 to September 16, 2026; 97.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00381277.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.