Marlboro County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Marlboro County: 9.
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. Jan 26, 2004Ice Storm, Marlboro$3.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Another episode of frozen precipitation occurred on the heels of the storm of January 25th, bringing more freezing rain and sleet to areas that already had over a quarter inch of ice still in the trees. The total ice accumulations ranged from a trace near the coast to as much as three quarters of an inch over interior sections. The weight of the ice caused major power outages from falling limbs, as well as significant structural damage to many homes. The state declared a forest disaster for the first time in two years. There was some ice accumulations on the roads, especially on bridges and overpasses, with numerous traffic accidents reported. Many residences were without power…

2. Jan 25, 2004Ice Storm, Marlboro$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began falling over the area the morning of Jan 25th, with ice accumulations reaching a quarter of an inch by the afternoon. Tree limbs snapped from the weight of the ice, causing widespread power outages. Much of the monetary damages were due to debris removal and utility company expenses. Many homes were also damaged when the tree limbs fell on them.

3. Oct 8, 2016Tropical Storm, Marlboro$1.0 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 eight inches of rain reported. Tropical storm force winds and flooded ground caused widespread tree and power line damage. The town of Clio was completely isolated during the height of the storm due to trees blocking all roads leading to and from town. Moderate widespread flooding was reported due to the heavy rain, especially near creeks and streams. Numerous road closures were observed. A train derailed in Wallace as a result of a washout. Residents in low lying areas of Shady Rest and Richardson Park in Bennettsville required evacuations. Marlboro…

4. Apr 13, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A few very strong microburts caused widespread damage near the city of|Wallace SC. The width of the entire damage area is approximately 2 to 3 |miles wide and 4 to 5 miles long. All of the damage was aligned nearly|unidirectional at every location damage was observed. The near straight |line swath of damage coupled with evidence of a very wide swath of damage |was indicative of microbursts in this event. ||Most of the winds within this area ranged from 65 to 85 mph with several |locations of 90 to 110 mph winds. Several homes were impacted with roofs |blown off, and an unanchored single wide mobile home was flipped off its |foundation. In addition, hundreds of softwood and…

5. Sep 7, 2004Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado snapped or uprooted numerous trees and damaged several homes.

6. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Crooked Creek was out of its banks and caused considerable flooding in the town of Bennettsville. Flood waters did impact some homes in town. Evacuations were reported to include the communities of Richardson Park and Shady Rest. The time was estimated.

7. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An earthen dam was compromised by the excessive rainfall and washed out a portion of train track near Highway 9, west of Wallace. This led to a train derailment.

8. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A portion of Covington Mill Pond Road was washed out. The time was estimated.

9. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A portion of Hebron Dunbar Road was washed out. The time was estimated.

10. Aug 3, 1996Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Between 3 and 6 inches of rain fell, inundating streets. The most water long-time residents had ever seen. County 911 center was flooded as city drainage system was overwhelmed. A motorist was killed when his vehicle hit a large puddle ovurturned in a ditch and he lost control.

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 23, 1952

All-time low

−9°FFeb 14, 1899

Warmest night

83°FAug 28, 1903

Coldest day

14°FFeb 14, 1899

Wettest day

10.75 inSep 16, 2018

Snowiest day

16.0 inFeb 26, 1914

Hottest year

2019mean 65.6°F

Coldest year

1969mean 57.9°F

Wettest year

201872.45 in

Driest year

200129.72 in

Snowiest season

19.0 in1935-36

Station Cheraw (USC00381588), 150 ft elevation, 12.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 4, 2026; 96.6% 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 USC00381588.
• 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.