NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pacolet, 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
24 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Pacolet, South Carolina since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Michael in 2018. Since 1950, 81 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 81
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Pacolet
The strongest storm to pass near Pacolet was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hugo in 1989, whose centre came within 32 miles. The record near Pacolet begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Michael in 2018, a tropical storm 40 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 4 systems. Of the 24 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 246 South Carolina cities on this site, 69% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Pacolet. The strongest of the 81 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 5, 1989; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 81, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on December 29, 2024. Pacolet has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 246 South Carolina cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 83 times since 1985, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Pacolet has more hail reports within 10 miles than 64% of the 246 South Carolina cities.
Compare Pacolet's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pacolet
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2006 | AlbertoJun 14 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 32 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 16 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1946 | Unnamed 1946 stormOct 9 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 18 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 4 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 56 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 12 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 Pacolet: 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 Pacolet
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s12
- 2000s10
- 1990s26(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1989 | F4 | 16 mi | 15 mi | 2 / 35 |
| May 10, 1952 | F3 | 9 mi | 22.7 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F3 | in town | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 17 mi | 60.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 15 mi | 4.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 13 mi | 3.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 8, 2017 | EF2 | 8 mi | 22.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 21, 1997 | F2 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 8 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 21 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F2 | 17 mi | 45.4 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Apr 15, 1993 | F2 | 16 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 81, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pacolet
The Storm Prediction Center has 83 hail reports within 10 miles of Pacolet since 1985, made on 67 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 4, 1994. The most recent report is from April 11, 2025. June has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pacolet
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Spartanburg 3 SSE, SC, 9 miles west of Pacolet at 610 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 32°F. March is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and September and November the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 50.3 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (24.5 of 50.3 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 24 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 57 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 76 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 50.3 inches is more than at 51 of the 78 South Carolina stations used on this site (65%). Cowpens, 10 miles north, has its own station (Chesnee 7 WSW, SC): 51.6 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 32 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 59 | 34 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 66 | 40 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 75 | 47 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 56 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 65 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 68 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 62 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 49 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 64 | 38 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 34 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 73 | 49 | 50.3 | 77 | 0.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Spartanburg 3 SSE, SC (610 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 Pacolet
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 151 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pacolet: 146 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $226,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 19, 1998.
July 4, 2013: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Pacolet — 1 killed.
June 21, 2011: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Pacolet — 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
Spartanburg County, which includes Pacolet, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 3 ice storms, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 29, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Spartanburg County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $89.3 million a year, the 11th highest of 46 South Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $52.8 million (59%), 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 Pacolet
- Jonesville, SC7 mi
- Pauline, SC10 mi
- Cowpens, SC10 mi
- Spartanburg, SC11 mi
- Roebuck, SC12 mi
- Gaffney, SC13 mi
- Buffalo, SC13 mi
- Union, SC15 mi
- Moore, SC16 mi
- Boiling Springs, SC16 mi
- Chesnee, SC18 mi
- Enoree, SC19 mi
All South Carolina cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Pacolet with another place →