NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Marietta, 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
15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Marietta, South Carolina since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 69 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 15
- Tornadoes
- 69
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Marietta
None of the 15 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Marietta; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 69 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. The record near Marietta begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 55 miles away. Of the 15 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 246 South Carolina cities on this site, 94% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Marietta. The highest rating among the 69 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 27, 1973, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 10, 1952, killed 2 people. Of the 69, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 11 each. The most recent tornado was on May 3, 2025. Of the 246 South Carolina cities, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Marietta. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 100 times since 1959, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Marietta has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 246 South Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Marietta
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Marietta: 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 Marietta
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s10
- 2000s8
- 1990s13
- 1980s3
- 1970s14(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1952 | F3 | 23 mi | 22.7 mi | 2 / 4 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 19 mi | 60.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Mar 23, 2022 | EF2 | 16 mi | 6.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 2020 | EF2 | 13 mi | 5.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 2020 | EF2 | 2 mi | 7.97 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Oct 8, 2017 | EF2 | 16 mi | 8.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 7, 1998 | F2 | 16 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 26, 1994 | F2 | 23 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 4, 1989 | F2 | 16 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 1980 | F2 | 24 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 23, 1979 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jan 10, 1975 | F2 | 18 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 69, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Marietta
The Storm Prediction Center has 100 hail reports within 10 miles of Marietta since 1959, made on 74 separate days. Of these, 55 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 10, 2011. The most recent report is from May 26, 2024. June has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Marietta
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Caesars Head, SC, 7 miles northwest of Marietta at 3,200 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 78°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 28°F. December is the wettest at 7.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 4.8 inches; the year adds up to 74.1 inches over 97 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (39.0 of 74.1 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 15 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 71°F and 6.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 78 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 74.1 inches is more than at 76 of the 78 South Carolina stations used on this site (97%). Zirconia, NC, 11 miles north, has its own station (Hendersonville 1 NE, NC): 59.3 inches a year, 14.8 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 78°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 28 | 6.0 | 7 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 48 | 30 | 4.8 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Mar | 56 | 37 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 65 | 44 | 5.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 70 | 53 | 6.1 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 75 | 60 | 6.9 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 78 | 64 | 7.0 | 12 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 76 | 63 | 7.0 | 11 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 58 | 6.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 48 | 5.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 55 | 38 | 5.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 48 | 32 | 7.1 | 8 | 2.6 |
| Year | 62 | 46 | 74.1 | 97 | 7.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Caesars Head, SC (3,200 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 Marietta
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 139 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Marietta: 128 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 21, 2008. Of the 241 South Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 88 have had fewer than Marietta.
May 11, 2018: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Marietta — 1 injured.
NWS: “Newspaper reported a woman was injured by a lightning strike on Ymca Camp Rd.”
September 27, 2024: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Marietta — $1.0 million damage.
July 21, 2008: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Marietta — $500,000 damage.
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Marietta's ZIP code 29661 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1986, and were paid $510,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 29% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 110 South Carolina cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 21 have fewer than Marietta.
Greenville County, which includes Marietta, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Greenville County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $169.0 million a year, the 6th highest of 46 South Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $104.5 million (62%), 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 Marietta
- Travelers Rest, SC6 mi
- Zirconia, NC11 mi
- Taylors, SC14 mi
- Pickens, SC14 mi
- Greenville, SC16 mi
- Easley, SC16 mi
- Brevard, NC16 mi
- Flat Rock, NC17 mi
- Saluda, NC17 mi
- East Flat Rock, NC17 mi
- Pisgah Forest, NC18 mi
- Greer, SC19 mi
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