NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mc Cormick, 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
32 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Mc Cormick, South Carolina since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 67 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 31
- Tornadoes
- 67
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Mc Cormick
The strongest storm to pass near Mc Cormick was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The record near Mc Cormick begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 49 miles away. The 1850s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 5 systems each. Of the 32 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Of the 246 South Carolina cities on this site, 81% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Mc Cormick. The highest rating among the 67 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 13, 1973, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on March 31, 1973, killed 7 people. Of the 67, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on June 9, 2025. Of the 246 South Carolina cities, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Mc Cormick. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 30 times since 1955, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 246 South Carolina cities, 92% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Mc Cormick.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mc Cormick
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2018 | FlorenceSep 16 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 16 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | CleoAug 30 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1946 | Unnamed 1946 stormOct 9 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 5 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 1 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 18 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 15 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 69 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 12 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 31 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 9 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormAug 24 | 59 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 Mc Cormick: 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 Mc Cormick
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s6
- 2000s29(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15(3 EF3+)
- 1980s2
- 1970s5(3 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 1973 | F4 | 18 mi | 22.6 mi | 7 / 30 |
| Dec 13, 1973 | F4 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 2 / 0 |
| May 7, 1998 | F3 | 22 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F3 | 8 mi | 67 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Feb 18, 2009 | EF3 | 23 mi | 19.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1998 | F3 | 16 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 1973 | F3 | 17 mi | 17.7 mi | 0 / 26 |
| May 3, 2021 | EF2 | 20 mi | 29.35 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 28, 2010 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.39 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 10, 2009 | EF2 | 18 mi | 6.71 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 15, 2008 | EF2 | 7 mi | 32.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2008 | EF2 | 19 mi | 8.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 67, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mc Cormick
The Storm Prediction Center has 30 hail reports within 10 miles of Mc Cormick since 1955, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 22 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on March 13, 1955. The most recent report is from March 26, 2021. March has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mc Cormick
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Clarks Hill 1 W, SC, 19 miles south of Mc Cormick at 400 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 36°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 46.8 inches. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (23.9 of 46.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 32 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (11); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 82 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 57 nights a year. That 46.8 inches is more than at 27 of the 78 South Carolina stations used on this site (35%). Lincolnton, GA, 13 miles southwest, has its own station (Washington 2 ESE, GA): 44.4 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 36 | 4.0 |
| Feb | 59 | 38 | 3.9 |
| Mar | 67 | 44 | 4.3 |
| Apr | 76 | 51 | 3.1 |
| May | 83 | 60 | 3.4 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 4.7 |
| Jul | 92 | 72 | 4.7 |
| Aug | 91 | 71 | 4.5 |
| Sep | 86 | 65 | 3.7 |
| Oct | 76 | 55 | 3.0 |
| Nov | 66 | 44 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 58 | 38 | 4.2 |
| Year | 75 | 53 | 46.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Clarks Hill 1 W, SC (400 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 Mc Cormick
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 107 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mc Cormick: 104 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $142,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 17, 2016.
June 10, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Mc Cormick — 1 injured.
NWS: “EPD reported trees down on home. An elderly woman had minor injuries.”
May 25, 2024: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Mc Cormick — 1 injured.
NWS: “McCormick County officials reported a collision between a vehicle and downed tree in roadway along Chestnut Ridge Road north of McCormick. Driver was taken to the hospital for unknown injuries.”
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
McCormick County, which includes Mc Cormick, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 29, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McCormick County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.8 million a year, the 46th highest of 46 South Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.2 million (44%), 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 Mc Cormick
- Lincolnton, GA13 mi
- Calhoun Falls, SC19 mi
- Abbeville, SC20 mi
- Appling, GA20 mi
- Tignall, GA21 mi
- Greenwood, SC21 mi
- Edgefield, SC21 mi
- Ninety Six, SC24 mi
- Hodges, SC26 mi
- Evans, GA27 mi
- Washington, GA27 mi
- Johnston, SC30 mi
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