NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wellford, 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
19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Wellford, South Carolina since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Wellford
None of the 19 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Wellford; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 72 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The record near Wellford begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 73 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 4 systems. Of the 19 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Of the 246 South Carolina cities on this site, 85% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Wellford. The strongest of the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 5, 1989; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 86, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on December 29, 2024. Wellford has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 60% of the 246 South Carolina cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 214 times since 1974, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Wellford has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 246 South Carolina cities.
Compare Wellford's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wellford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 18 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 4 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 26 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 Wellford: 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 Wellford
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s16
- 2000s8
- 1990s17(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11
- 1950s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1989 | F4 | 13 mi | 15 mi | 2 / 35 |
| May 10, 1952 | F3 | 11 mi | 22.7 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F3 | 16 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 2 mi | 60.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Apr 25, 2020 | EF2 | 13 mi | 5.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 23 mi | 4.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 6 mi | 3.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 8, 2017 | EF2 | 17 mi | 22.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 21, 1997 | F2 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F2 | 7 mi | 45.4 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Apr 4, 1989 | F2 | 5 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1989 | F2 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wellford
The Storm Prediction Center has 214 hail reports within 10 miles of Wellford since 1974, made on 135 separate days. Of these, 116 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on August 20, 1999. The most recent report is from June 25, 2025. May and June have the most reports, 54 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wellford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Greer, SC, 9 miles southwest of Wellford at 940 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 32°F. July is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 49.6 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 49.6 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 19 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 48 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 54 nights a year. Snowfall averages 3.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 49.6 inches is more than at 48 of the 78 South Carolina stations used on this site (62%). Moore, 7 miles southeast, has its own station (Spartanburg 3 SSE, SC): 50.3 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 32 | 4.1 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Feb | 57 | 35 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Mar | 64 | 41 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 73 | 49 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 58 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 66 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 68 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 62 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 50 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 40 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 55 | 35 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Year | 72 | 50 | 49.6 | 77 | 3.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Greer, SC (940 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 Wellford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 287 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wellford: 251 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 12 floods, 7 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 3 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $7.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on May 2, 2003. August has had the most flash floods, 6 of 15. Of the 241 South Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 171 have had fewer than Wellford.
March 15, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Wellford — 1 killed, 3 injured, $100,000 damage.
October 1, 2015: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Wellford — 1 killed, 1 injured, $200,000 damage.
August 29, 2007: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Wellford — 1 killed, 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 Wellford, 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.