Williamsburg County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Oct 4, 2015Flood$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Around 10 to 15 inches of rain fell over a three day period, causing the Black River at Kingstree to rise to a major flood. The river crested at 22.65 feet, beating the previous record crest in 1973 by nearly three feet. Several hundred homes were evacuated due to inundation. The town of Quinby had moderate flooding.

2. Oct 8, 2016Hurricane (Typhoon), Williamsburg$5.0 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 13 inches reported northwest of Kingstree, with many areas over 10 inches. Tropical storm force winds and flooded ground caused widespread tree and power line damage. There was major river flooding however along the Black River at Kingstree. Water rescues were needed in this area. Numerous roads were flooded and were impacted by washouts. An emergency shelter in Kingstree was forced to close due to rats escaping from the flooding. More than 2150 homes sustained some damage and of these, 160 homes were destroyed or sustained major damage. Twenty-eight…

3. Jan 26, 2004Ice Storm, Williamsburg$3.8 million
4. Oct 4, 2015Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding across the county with numerous roads reportedly impassable.

5. Jun 30, 2015Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck Mt. Zion AME church in Greeleyville. The 8000 sq ft church caught fire and was a total loss.

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

   Numerous streets and adjacent property was reported flooded in Kingstree to include Main Street.

7. Aug 29, 2004Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston amounted to around 10 inches in about 3 to 4 hours over western Williamsburg County. This resulted in widespread road closures across western portions of the county.

8. Aug 29, 2004Tropical Storm, Williamsburg$320,000
9. May 6, 2003Tornado$320,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service storm survey determined an F1 tornado touched down approximately 2.5 miles west of Hemingway. The tornado overturned two singlewide mobile homes and tore the roof off another, dropping it on a vehicle and causing damage. The damage estimate in this area was $100K. Two people were hospitalized. The tornado continued east southeast, weakening somewhat, and caused F0 damage, snapping pine trees. The trees fell on a singlewide and doublewide mobile home and two vehicles. One person was hopitalized, and the damage in this area totaled $120K. The tornado strengthened, causing F1 damage once again one mile south of Hemingway. It destroyed a tobacco warehouse…

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

    Flood waters were reportedly rushing across several roads. A few structures were also impacted by the flood waters. The time was estimated.

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

105°F2 times, most recently Aug 21, 1983

All-time low

2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

89°FJul 12, 1990

Coldest day

25°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

8.80 inOct 4, 2015

Snowiest day

6.0 inDec 23, 1989

Hottest year

1990mean 66.8°F

Coldest year

1966mean 62.1°F

Wettest year

201569.26 in

Driest year

198829.47 in

Snowiest season

8.0 in1989-90

Station Andrews (USC00380184), 35 ft elevation, 17.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1962 to October 23, 2026; 94.0% 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 USC00380184.
• 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.