Bamberg County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Bamberg County: 0.
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.

Claims by ZIP code

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. Aug 22, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Edisto Electric reported several trees down on powerlines in Ehrhardt.

2. Jan 9, 2024Tornado$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather storm survey team confirmed an EF2 tornado, with peak winds of|125 mph, in Bamberg SC. The tornado began 1.75 miles south of the City of Bamberg|along US Hwy 601, near Cry Baby Road.||Moving north, the tornado then proceeded to flip a mobile home and cause substantial|EF2 damage to a barrel plant at the intersection of US Hwy 601 and US Hwy 301. Door|and window failure contributed to the collapse of the middle section of the building|and partial collapse of the front section. The collapsed portions of the building were|tossed across Chevrolet St into a water tower.||The tornado continued north-northeast along US-301 causing widespread EF1 roof and|tree damage…

3. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Bamberg$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread trees and power lines down. Many roads closed, some for an extended period of time. Large sections of the county without power. Falling trees caused damage to structures across the county. At least 29 homes sustained some level of damage including 17 with major damage. NWS analysis estimates max wind gusts were 70-80 mph. Areas of flooding with generally between 5 to 7 inches of rain through the county. Highest total measured came from a COOP observer in Bamberg who measured two total of 8.55 inches.

4. Oct 8, 2016High Wind, Bamberg$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   County EOC and Law Enforcement reported numerous trees down especially in the Denmark and Bamberg communities. Broadcast Media and Utility Companies reported initial estimates of over 6,000 electrical outages.

5. Jul 1, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Times Democrat reported trees down in Bamberg. One fell on a home causing moderate damage and another destroyed a barbershop.

6. Jun 15, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sheriff reported numerous trees down in Bamberg.

7. Jul 1, 2012Hail$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Public reported golfball size hail in the Olar area.

8. Jul 26, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$18,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sheriff reported many trees down from Denmark to Bamberg.

9. Jul 1, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$16,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sheriff reported trees and powerlines down arcoss northern portions of the county.

10. Aug 16, 1997Lightning$15,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Garage was hit and destroyed by lightning. Contents included an automoblie, tractors, mowers, etc.

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

109°FJul 24, 1952

All-time low

2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°FAug 8, 1963

Coldest day

24°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

8.90 inNov 7, 2024

Snowiest day

19.0 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

1990mean 66.8°F

Coldest year

1960mean 62.9°F

Wettest year

202384.11 in

Driest year

195427.89 in

Snowiest season

22.0 in1972-73

Station Bamberg (USC00380448), 150 ft elevation, 1.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1951 to October 20, 2026; 92.1% 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 USC00380448.
• 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.