Florence County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

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. May 25, 2000Hail$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm developed west of the city of Florence and moved east. The damage began on the southwest side of the city with reports (including ham radio, media, and spotters) of large hail and wind gusts estimated over 80 mph. The largest hail size was estimated at 4 1/2 inches, which caused extensive damage over $6 million to more than 2000 homes, mainly roof and siding damage.The hail and wind blew out many windows, injuring one person with flying glass. The storm knocked out power to over 20,000 residences. Damage to vehicles was even more costly. Several automobile dealerships sustained major damage to nearly every car in their lots...totaling around 1000 vehicles.…

2. Oct 4, 2015Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Around 15 inches of rain fell over the course of a few days, sending the Lynches River out of its banks and it continued rising to a major flood. The river crested at 19.73 feet, the highest level since 1945, and the third highest ever. Over two hundred homes were inundated, with evacuations necessary. The town of Johnsonville also saw its share of flooding along the Lynches River.

3. Jan 26, 2004Ice Storm, Florence$4.8 million
4. May 14, 2006Tornado$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Storm Survey concluded a tornado moved through the Glendale community of Florence. The majority of damage was F1 with a path 1000 yards long and up to 150 yards wide. There was a small area (150 yards long 20 yards wide) of heavier F2 damage, with winds estimated at 120 mph. Sixty homes were damaged, six of which had major structural damage, largely due to snapped and uprooted trees. The Quinby area had penny to golfball size hail, with trees and power lines down. The Florence county tax assessor estimated the damage at 1.3 million dollars.

5. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several roads were reported flooded out and closed. Numerous structures were inundated by flood waters. There were 7 water rescues reported within the city limits of Florence.

6. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Portions of Friendfield Road were flooded. Several adjacent roadways and numerous structures were impacted by the flood waters.

7. Mar 15, 2008Tornado$605,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service Storm Survey concluded a tornado developed near Crawfish Pond Road and Cartersville Highway, just to the southeast of Cartersville. The tornado moved east across Chaney Grove Road, near Rose Lane where it strengthened from an EF0 to an EF1 with winds estimated to 100 mph. The tornado weakened to EF0 as it crossed Thunder Road. The tornado reached EF1 again near Cale Yarborough Highway and Interstate 95. The tornado crossed Interstate 95 with EF0 damage noted near South Hill Road. The tornado peaked at 105 mph along W John Paul Jones Road, between Center Road and Langston Road. The tornado finally dissipated near Mccain Circle and Olanta Highway, just…

8. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flood waters were rushing across Alligator Road. The depth of the water was estimated up to one foot. Nearby roadways and structures were impacted by the flood waters.

9. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Florence County Sheriff's Office Dive Team found a submerged vehicle at a bridge washout on National Cemetery Road Near Fire Tower Road. The car was found the next day. The lone male occupant was dead. The time was estimated.

10. Jul 10, 2008Lightning$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck Dawsey United Methodist Church and burned it to the ground.

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°FJun 27, 1954

All-time low

0°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

83°FAug 27, 1998

Coldest day

20°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

11.74 inOct 8, 2016

Snowiest day

13.0 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

1975mean 67.3°F

Coldest year

1966mean 60.5°F

Wettest year

195964.71 in

Driest year

195427.50 in

Station Florence Regional Airport (USW00013744), 141 ft elevation, 6.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00013744.
• 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.