Lexington County

Every recorded tornado

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

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, Lexington$16.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Many trees and power lines down. Some roads closed and sections of the county lost power. Falling trees caused damage to structures primarily in the western half of the county. At least 44 homes sustained some level of damage including 3 destroyed and 18 with major damage. An NWS storm survey estimated that maximum wind gusts were likely 70-80 mph based on the extent of damage. Maximum wind speed measured at the Columbia Metro Airport (KCAE) was 38 knots sustained (44 mph) with a maximum gust of 58 knots (67 mph). Minimum pressure of 989.7 mb was also measured at KCAE. Areas of flooding observed with generally between 4 to 6 inches of rain observed through the county, although…

2. Oct 10, 2015Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lexington County dispatch reports flooding across much of north-central Lexington County. Numerous roads flooded, with too many to name at this time. Some small dams being breached at this time.

3. Oct 4, 2015Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   SC Highway Patrol reports flooding on I-77 Southbound at I-26, road closed.

4. Oct 4, 2015Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement rescued over 60 people from 55 homes in the Coldstream neighborhood between 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM.

5. Mar 28, 2010Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF2 with max winds of 125mph touched down near Ridge Road and continued northeast to Lake Murray. Around 40 homes had some form of damage with numerous trees and powerlines down. Several vehicles were also damaged and there was one minor injury. One horse was killed when a portion of a barn collapsed.

6. Jul 23, 1997Tornado$917,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado producing winds to 150 mph killed a 32 year old female and injured 6 others. Two homes were destroyed and 9 others had major damage. Two apartements were destroyed (duplex). Seven mobile homes were destroyed and 94 had minor damage. Numerous trees were down and two crop fields had areas of destroyed crops.

7. Oct 8, 2016High Wind, Lexington$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   SCDOT reported 60 state and county roads were closed by downed trees and power lines especially in the Lexington, Swansea and South Congaree communities. One structure was damaged by a fallen tree in the Woodcreek Subdivision. SCE&G reported at time of highest winds 45,000 county customers were without power.

8. Jun 27, 2004Lightning$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sheriff reported 4 homes on fire in Irmo from lightning strikes.

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

   NWS employee reports US 1 about 1 mile west of I-20 flooded and impassable.

10. Oct 10, 2015Flash Flood$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    SC Highway Patrol reports roadway washed out at Nazareth Road and Lewis Pond Court.

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

109°F2 times, most recently Jun 30, 2012

All-time low

−1°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°FAug 4, 2011

Coldest day

23°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

6.87 inOct 4, 2015

Snowiest day

12.3 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

2017mean 67.3°F

Coldest year

1967mean 61.1°F

Wettest year

196470.53 in

Driest year

195427.38 in

Snowiest season

18.2 in1972-73

Station Columbia (USW00013883), 345 ft elevation, 5.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00013883.
• 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.