Chester County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Chester County: 1.
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, Chester$7.0 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, Chester$500,000
   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 60 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 70 mph.

3. Feb 26, 2004Heavy Snow, Chester$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy snow began to fall across much of the Upstate during the late morning. Although snowfall intensity decreased dramatically during the early-to-middle portion of the afternoon, heavy snow redeveloped during the late afternoon, and continued into the evening and overnight hours. Scattered thunderstorms contributed to intense snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour from time to time, especially in the eastern piedmont, where total snowfall of 12-22 inches occurred, with the axis of heaviest snowfall extending from Rock Hill northeast to the North Carolina border. Thousands of people were stranded on I-77 during the early afternoon, and some required rescue. The weight of this…

4. Sep 7, 2004Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This brief tornado blew down several trees and damaged or destroyed 2 small trailers shortly after touching down. It then moved north and lifted a portion of the roof from a well-constructed home. The garage wall was blown inward about 1 foot at this same location. A carport next to the home was also detroyed. Several trees were blown down and a small trailer destroyed at a hunting club before the tornado lifted.

5. May 5, 2020Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found a second tornado developed across southeast Chester County, beginning along Old Catholic Church Rd, a little over a mile south of Highway 97, or just west of I-77. The tornado initially moved east, crossing Interstate 77, and downing trees and snapping large limbs across Mountain Gap Road, Ross Dye Road and Georgetown Road, before turning southeast. The tornado crossed Highway 21 into the town of Great Falls and produced additional tree damage along Walnut Street, Hampton Street, Duke Street, and Republic Street. A house on Republic St received significant damage from a fallen tree. The tornado moved over the Catawba River southeast of Great Falls, crossing…

6. Apr 22, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency manager reported multiple trees blown down, some falling on homes, with damage to nine structures along Edwards Rd, River Rd, and connecting streets.

7. Mar 15, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A squall line blasted rapidly across Upstate South Carolina after developing in the mountains of North Carolina and Northeast Georgia. The first damage reports came from Oconee and Pickens counties where trees and power lines were blown down. At Liberty at least one tree fell on a home causing substantial damage. At Westminster a concrete wall was blown down onto cars, roof and sign damage was reported. Wind damage was reported at Long Creek. Numerous power outages occurred. At Seneca a produce stand was blown over, signs were blown down at a bank and the high school. Several trees and power lines were downed. The squall line reached its maximum intensity as it rolled through…

8. Jul 27, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two outbuildings were destroyed and a cinderblock well house was damaged at Dixie Stockyard along highway 21 near the York Co line. Shingles were torn off a house and a resteraunt on the premises. Two trees were blown down in this area, including a large oak tree that fell on and heavily damaged a vacant house.

9. Jul 11, 2013Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Main Street and Church Streets were flooded in Fort Lawn. Water entered the Fort Lawn Methodist Church and the Fort Lawn fire department. The church sustained significant flood damage. Reaves Creek also flooded Shirley Road just outside of town. A couple dirt roads in the area were also washed out, including Harbor House Drive near the Catawba River.

10. Feb 6, 2020Flash Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Newspaper reported multiple streams overflowed their banks, inundating, and in some cases washing out multiple roads in western Chester County after up to 5 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, with much of that falling during the morning and early afternoon of the 6th.

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

106°F2 times, most recently Aug 21, 1983

All-time low

−5°FDec 13, 1962

Warmest night

80°FJul 8, 1926

Coldest day

19°FJan 8, 1988

Wettest day

8.40 inAug 23, 1967

Snowiest day

7.5 inFeb 9, 1967

Hottest year

1971mean 63.3°F

Coldest year

1988mean 58.2°F

Wettest year

196464.63 in

Driest year

200729.73 in

Snowiest season

20.0 in1935-36

Station Chester 1 Se (USC00381633), 560 ft elevation, 4.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1923 to October 18, 2026; 99.0% 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 USC00381633.
• 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.