NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Great Falls, 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
44 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Great Falls, South Carolina since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Debby in 2024. Since 1950, 70 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 41
- Tornadoes
- 70
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Great Falls
The strongest storm to pass near Great Falls was an unnamed storm in 1896, a Category 1 hurricane with 87 mph winds when its centre passed 55 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hugo in 1989, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Great Falls begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Debby in 2024, a tropical storm 35 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems. Of the 44 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Of the 246 South Carolina cities on this site, 55% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Great Falls. The highest rating among the 70 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 28, 1984, came within 10 miles. Of the 70, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on December 29, 2024. Of the 246 South Carolina cities, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Great Falls. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 39 times since 1985, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 246 South Carolina cities, 84% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Great Falls.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Great Falls
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DebbyAug 8 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2018 | FlorenceSep 16 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2006 | AlbertoJun 14 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | overhead | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | Unnamed 1976 stormSep 15 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 21 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1970 | AlmaMay 26 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 16 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | Unnamed 1952 stormAug 28 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1946 | Unnamed 1946 stormOct 9 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 17 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 20 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 5 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1913 | Unnamed 1913 stormOct 9 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 18 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 29 | 55 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 4 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 4 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 1 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 12 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 12 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormSep 1 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 9 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormAug 24 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Great Falls: 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 Great Falls
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s10
- 2000s18(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13
- 1980s9(3 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s4
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 1984 | F4 | 10 mi | 21 mi | 5 / 49 |
| Apr 8, 1957 | F4 | 19 mi | 121.4 mi | 4 / 70 |
| Mar 28, 1984 | F4 | 16 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 36 |
| Sep 7, 2004 | F3 | 23 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 28, 1984 | F3 | 18 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Nov 16, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 5.8 mi | 3 / 5 |
| Sep 27, 2004 | F2 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Apr 15, 1994 | F2 | 24 mi | 3 mi | 1 / 4 |
| May 5, 2020 | EF2 | in town | 13.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 11, 2020 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2008 | EF2 | 23 mi | 23.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 70, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Great Falls
The Storm Prediction Center has 39 hail reports within 10 miles of Great Falls since 1985, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on September 8, 1998. The most recent report is from March 25, 2021. May has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Great Falls
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Winnsboro, SC, 17 miles southwest of Great Falls at 530 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 31°F. August is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and April and May the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 45.2 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (23.3 of 45.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 44 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (16); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 60 nights a year. That 45.2 inches is more than at 13 of the 78 South Carolina stations used on this site (17%). Fort Lawn, 9 miles north, has its own station (Chester 1 SE, SC): 46.0 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 31 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Feb | 57 | 33 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Mar | 65 | 40 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Apr | 74 | 48 | 3.1 | 5 |
| May | 81 | 57 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Jun | 88 | 65 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Jul | 91 | 69 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Aug | 89 | 68 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Sep | 83 | 62 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Oct | 74 | 50 | 3.3 | 4 |
| Nov | 63 | 39 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Dec | 55 | 34 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Year | 73 | 50 | 45.2 | 73 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Winnsboro, SC (530 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 Great Falls
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 115 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Great Falls: 111 thunderstorm wind reports and 4 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $231,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 5, 2020.
June 1, 2015: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Great Falls — 2 injured.
NWS: “DOT reported several trees down in Mitford along Hwy 200.”
June 9, 2024: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Great Falls — 1 injured.
NWS: “NWS survey team found several uprooted trees along Hwy 97, beginning near the intersection of Hwy 200, ending near the Kershaw county line. The county EM reported an indirect injury when a person drove into a downed tree on Hwy 97, near Ember Ln.”
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
Chester County, which includes Great Falls, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 29, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Chester County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.8 million a year, the 36th highest of 46 South Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.1 million (38%), 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 Great Falls
- Fort Lawn, SC9 mi
- Richburg, SC10 mi
- Heath Springs, SC12 mi
- Lancaster, SC14 mi
- Edgemoor, SC16 mi
- Ridgeway, SC17 mi
- Winnsboro, SC17 mi
- Catawba, SC19 mi
- Chester, SC20 mi
- Kershaw, SC21 mi
- Blythewood, SC26 mi
- Rock Hill, SC27 mi
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