Fairfield County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Fairfield County: 6.
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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Fairfield$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Many trees and power lines down. Some roads closed. Sections of the county without power. Falling trees caused damage to homes across the county. At least 11 homes sustained some level of damage including 2 destroyed and 3 with major damage. Maximum wind measured at the Winnsboro Airport (KFDW) was 26 knots sustained (30 mph) with a max gust of 38 knots (44 mph). NWS analysis estimated that maximum wind gusts were between 60-70 mph. Minimum MSLP at KFDW was 991.5 mb. Areas of flooding with maximum rainfall observed in Winnsboro with a CoCoRaHS gage measuring 5.74 inches.

2. Oct 4, 2015Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   SC Highway Patrol reports SC34 at Hopewell Church Road closed due to flooding.

3. Aug 12, 2004Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado ran along SC secondary hwy 3 and did minor damage to several homes and mobile homes. Several out buildings were destroyed and many trees and powerlines were down.

4. Jun 24, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   EM reported that a turkey farm on Ashford Ferry Road had 3 barns severely damaged.

5. Oct 24, 2008High Wind, Fairfield$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Broadcast media outlets reported trees and powerlines down in several areas of the county. A couple of homes had trees on them in the Winnsboro area. A storm survey found a barn and outbuilding at 7711 Newberry Road, about 6 miles west of Winnsboro, had roof damage. The barn may also have sustained structural damage from the persistent wind event as it appeared to be tilted a couple of inches from center.

6. Jul 1, 2012Hail$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous motorists reported windshields broken from hial on I-77 between exits 41 and 48.

7. Apr 9, 2011Hail$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS COOP Observer reported golfball size hail in Longtown.

8. Jun 11, 2007Tornado$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF0 touched town in the White Oak area and took down large trees and did minor damage to a church. Two vehicles were crushed under one tree with no occupants inside.

9. Jul 1, 2012Hail$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Highway Patrol reported quarter size hail on I-77 NE of Winnsboro with several vehicles having cracked wind shields.

10. Apr 9, 2011Hail$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Spotter reported golfball size hail near Lake Wateree.

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

108°FJul 22, 1926

All-time low

−3°F2 times, most recently Feb 14, 1899

Warmest night

86°FAug 28, 1903

Coldest day

15°FFeb 13, 1899

Wettest day

7.77 inJul 10, 1959

Snowiest day

12.0 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

1990mean 64.8°F

Coldest year

1968mean 59.4°F

Wettest year

192971.67 in

Driest year

200729.96 in

Snowiest season

16.8 in1935-36

Station Winnsboro (USC00389327), 530 ft elevation, 1.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1896 to August 31, 2026; 96.5% 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 USC00389327.
• 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.