NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Buffalo, SC
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
26 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Buffalo, South Carolina since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Michael in 2018. Since 1950, 75 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 24
- Tornadoes
- 75
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Buffalo
The strongest storm to pass near Buffalo was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 82 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hugo in 1989, whose centre came within 36 miles. The record near Buffalo begins with an unnamed storm in 1854; the most recent system was Michael in 2018, a tropical storm 29 miles away. The 1880s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 26 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 246 South Carolina cities on this site, 69% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Buffalo. The highest rating among the 75 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 16, 1994, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 10, 1952, killed 2 people. Of the 75, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on December 29, 2024. Of the 246 South Carolina cities, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Buffalo. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 66 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Buffalo has more hail reports within 10 miles than 50% of the 246 South Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Buffalo
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2006 | AlbertoJun 14 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 36 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 16 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1946 | Unnamed 1946 stormOct 9 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 18 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 4 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 51 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 12 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | overhead | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 9 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Buffalo: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Buffalo
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s14
- 2000s13
- 1990s19(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s3
- 1960s4
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1952 | F3 | 10 mi | 22.7 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F3 | 6 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 1994 | F2 | 25 mi | 3 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Mar 28, 1984 | F2 | 23 mi | 23 mi | 1 / 38 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 8, 2017 | EF2 | 9 mi | 22.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 13, 2005 | F2 | 21 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 21, 1997 | F2 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 8 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 15, 1993 | F2 | 8 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 4, 1989 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 1985 | F2 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 39 |
The strongest 12 of 75, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Buffalo
The Storm Prediction Center has 66 hail reports within 10 miles of Buffalo since 1963, made on 56 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 23, 2014. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Buffalo
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Union 8 S, SC, 8 miles south of Buffalo at 480 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 29°F. March and December are the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 45.4 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (22.1 of 45.4 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 26 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 3.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 56 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 87 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.4 inches is more than at 16 of the 78 South Carolina stations used on this site (21%). Union, 6 miles east, has its own station (Santuck, SC): 44.6 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 29 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 57 | 32 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 65 | 38 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 74 | 47 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 55 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 65 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 68 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 67 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 61 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 48 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 37 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 32 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Year | 73 | 48 | 45.4 | 68 | 1.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Union 8 S, SC (480 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Buffalo
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 154 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Buffalo: 148 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 lightning strikes, 2 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $322,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 24, 2022.
September 1, 2013: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Buffalo — 1 killed.
NWS: “A 50 year old man was struck by lightning, while working on his truck, under a tree, in the yard. The incident took place Sunday September 1, 2013.”
June 16, 1998: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Buffalo — 1 injured, $14,000 damage.
June 21, 2011: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Buffalo — 1 injured.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Union County, which includes Buffalo, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 hurricanes, 3 ice storms, 3 tropical storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Debby, on September 29, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Union County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.5 million a year, the 34th highest of 46 South Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.5 million (36%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Buffalo
- Union, SC6 mi
- Jonesville, SC8 mi
- Pauline, SC9 mi
- Enoree, SC12 mi
- Pacolet, SC13 mi
- Whitmire, SC16 mi
- Roebuck, SC17 mi
- Clinton, SC19 mi
- Woodruff, SC19 mi
- Moore, SC20 mi
- Spartanburg, SC21 mi
- Sharon, SC21 mi
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