Greenwood County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Greenwood County: 2.
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. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Greenwood$15.0 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. One fatality was attributed to a falling tree.

2. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Greenwood$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.

3. Mar 15, 2008Hail$2.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The combination of strong winds and hail up to golfball size damaged 507 structures in the far southern part of the county. Estimated damage in the form of broken windows, damaged roofs and siding was 2.8 million dollars. Most of the damage occurred between highways 221 and 25.

4. Jan 2, 1999Ice Storm, Greenwood$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…

5. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A second tornado path was found a couple of miles north of the main tornado track through Greenwood. This tornado began on Karlie Ct just off Laurel Rd. Once again, numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off. However, more structural damage was observed along this path. Several homes received minor to moderate roof damage. Siding and gutters were blown off a few homes as well. A home near the end of the path received the most significant, damage, with part of the roof completely blown off and and the collapse of an adjacent exterior wall. A storage trailer was also blown over in this area. Also, a tree fell across a train track on Emerald Rd, causing a train to derail.

6. Oct 4, 2015Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After early morning flash flooding, rain rates moderated across the lower Piedmont, but flooding continued and gradually expanded, with high water conditions remaining in place throughout much of the 4th. At the height of the event, at least a dozen roads were closed due to urban/drainage flooding issues or due to lingering high flow conditions on small streams, especially in the city of Greenwood and surrounding areas. In addition to the flooding, the combination of saturated soils and winds gusting in excess of 20 mph caused numerous trees to fall throughout this period of time. Several trees fell on homes in the city of Greenwood.

7. Jan 12, 2023Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the path of an EF1 tornado that began near the intersection of Deadfall Rd and North Acres Rd where scattered large trees were uprooted or snapped. The tornado then intensified as it moved east/ northeast, paralleling Deadfall Rd crossing Cokesbury Rd, where numerous large trees were uprooted or snapped, with some trees down on homes. Extensive damage to two houses were found in this area. The tornado weakened as it approached Green Oaks Rd, with additional tree damage before the path was lost in an inaccessible area on the west side of the Greenwood County Airport. However, an official measured wind gust of 75 mph at the airport was assumed to be associated…

8. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS survey identified a tornado path that began near the intersection of Hunters Creek Bvd and Woodlawn Rd. The tornado continued east/southeast across the south side of Greenwood, uprooting or snapping off numerous trees along the path. The hardest hit area was around Edgefield St, where numerous trees were damaged. Some trees fell on and seriously damaged homes. Other homes received significant roof damage.

9. Dec 30, 2015Flash Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency Manager reported flash flooding developed after 2-3 inches of rain fell across the county in just a few hours. Numerous roads, as much as a couple of dozen were closed in the central part of the county due to a combination of stream flooding and drainage problems. This included portions of Highway 25 and the Bypass in the city of Greenwood. Several homes were flooded along Parkland Place Rd near Emerald Rd, likely due to Stockman Branch overflowing its banks.

10. Dec 15, 2005Ice Storm, Greenwood$100,000
    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.

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

107°F5 times, most recently Jun 23, 1994

All-time low

−2°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 1985

Warmest night

89°FJun 24, 1944

Coldest day

20°FFeb 19, 1979

Wettest day

10.72 inSep 26, 1929

Snowiest day

11.0 inFeb 14, 1902

Hottest year

1927mean 63.9°F

Coldest year

1967mean 57.6°F

Wettest year

192974.35 in

Driest year

201626.05 in

Snowiest season

27.0 in1935-36

Station Laurens (USC00385017), 589 ft elevation, 21.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1901 to October 20, 2026; 97.6% 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 USC00385017.
• 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.