Horry County

Every recorded tornado

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

High tide flooding

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, 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. Oct 8, 2016Hurricane (Typhoon), Inland Horry$67.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Matthew moved up the eastern seaboard, bringing very heavy rain and strong winds. Rainfall amounts were high, with over a foot of rain reported in many areas. A peak wind of 74 mph was reported at the Myrtle Beach Airport, with 70 mph measured at the North Myrtle Beach Airport. Wind gusts to hurricane strength and flooded ground caused widespread tree and power line damage. There were numerous reports of trees down across roads, hampering emergency responder's efforts. Structural damage included the loss of siding and shingles to many homes. Major river flooding occurred due to the crests of the Waccamaw and Little Pee Dee rivers. More than 170 roads in the county were…

2. Oct 8, 2016Hurricane (Typhoon), Coastal Horry$67.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Matthew moved up the eastern seaboard, bringing very heavy rain and strong winds. Rainfall amounts were high, with over a foot of rain reported in many areas. A peak wind of 74 mph was reported at the Myrtle Beach Airport, with 70 mph measured at the North Myrtle Beach Airport. Wind gusts to hurricane strength and flooded ground caused widespread tree and power line damage. There were numerous reports of trees down across roads, hampering emergency responder's efforts. Structural damage included the loss of siding and shingles to many homes. Major river flooding occurred due to the crests of the Waccamaw and Little Pee Dee rivers. More than 170 roads in the county were…

3. Apr 22, 2009Wildfire, Horry$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wildfire began on Woodland Drive, 8 miles east of Conway near Hwy 90. The fire spread to the east, and eventually to the northeast, briefly jumping Hwy 31 and also Hwy 22. The South Carolina governor declared a state of emergency for Horry County on April 23rd, activating more personnel and agencies to deal with the fire. A total of 19600 acres burned before the fire was contained on April 28th. Approximately 2500 people were evacuated, and a total of 76 homes were destroyed and at least another 100 damaged, mostly in the Barefoot Resort area in North Myrtle Beach. Dense smoke affected the region for about a week. Of the 40 million total in damages 25 million was attributed to…

4. Mar 13, 2013Wildfire, Inland Horry$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A brush fire spread into the Windsor Green complex the afternoon of March 16th. The fire only burned 10-15 acres, however it destroyed 26 buildings, with 110 condo units destroyed. All of the units on Brite Water Court were destroyed, as were units on Twin Pond Court and Pond Shoals. Three police officers were treated for smoke inhalation. One fire fighter went into cardiac arrest but was revived and is doing well. At least 100 people were displaced, and the Red Cross set up a shelter.

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

   Around 15 inches of rain fell over a few days on the basins to the Waccamaw River at Conway. The river subsequently rose to a major flood, cresting at 16.20 feet, the third highest crest of all time, and the highest crest since Hurricane Floyd. Over 400 homes were inundated, with evacuations necessary.

6. Jul 6, 2001Tornado$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   As a weak cold front moved south into an afternoon sea breeze boundary, slow-moving thunderstorms developed along the Horry county coast. An F0 tornado briefly touched down at 9th Ave N near the Myrtle Beach Pavilion, and soon after a waterspout formed just off the beach near 3rd Ave N. It slightly damaged the 2nd Ave N pier and then moved over the beach as it developed more strongly, causing F2 damage - overturned buses and extensive damage to vehicles and hotels along the beach to about 4nd Ave S. Moving off the beach again, the waterspout continued south about 100 yards from the shore until it came ashore between 28th Ave S and Springmaid Pier...causing a 66 knot gust over…

7. Jul 5, 2023Lightning$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning caused a house fire on Long Left Pine Drive in Conway, SC.

8. Aug 14, 2004Hurricane (Typhoon), Horry$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Charley initially made landfall on the west coast of Florida between Fort Myers and Tampa as a category four hurricane. The storm crossed Florida, and exited the coast as a category one. About 180,000 people evacuated the Grand Strand as Charley continued northeast, making landfall again near Cape Romain as a weak category one hurricane with sustained winds at 75 mph. It moved up the coast and then inland around Myrtle Beach. In Horry and Georgetown counties, insurance claims totaled $5 million, mostly along the Grand Strand. There were downed trees, roof damage, and flooding along the coast in this area. 65,000 residents lost power, and the estimate for cleanup in…

9. Aug 26, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Horry$3.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The center of Hurricane Bonnie came within 70 miles of the Horry County coast as the storm tracked north during the afternoon and early evening. Highest wind reports were from the NNW, ranging as high as 82 MPH at the Cherry Grove pier, while at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion the highest gust was 76 MPH. Rainfall ranged as from 2 to nearly 4 inches. Widespread damage was heaviest in the northeast part of the county - mainly downed trees, wires and structural damage. Ocean levels rose 2-3 feet above normal with no overwash. Federal Disaster Declaration.

10. Jan 26, 2004Ice Storm, Horry$3.3 million

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

104°F2 times, most recently Aug 5, 1954

All-time low

13°FJan 25, 2014

Warmest night

84°FAug 8, 2007

Coldest day

28°FJan 29, 2014

Wettest day

12.04 inSep 15, 1999

Hottest year

2020mean 66.5°F

Coldest year

2000mean 61.5°F

Wettest year

201868.50 in

Driest year

201133.48 in

Station N Myrtle Beach (USW00093718), 29 ft elevation, 12.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 26, 2026; 90.9% 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 USW00093718.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.