Hurricanes that hit Chester County, South Carolina: hurricane history

33 storms have passed within 50 km of Chester County from 1854 to 2021, coloured by intensity on the map.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Chester County

The record holds 33 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Chester County, South Carolina between 1854 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 12 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 2 strength. 1 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 33storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 4at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Chester County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1030%
Tropical storm1855%
Category 139%
Category 213%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity13%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Chester County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 4 in 1880s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2021, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1854, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s2
1860s2
1870s1
1880s4
1890s2
1900s1
1910s3
1920s1
1940s1
1950s3
1960s1
1970s2
1980s3
1990s2
2000s2
2010s1
2020s2

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 12 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun4Jul4Aug6Sep12Oct6Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun4
Jul4
Aug6
Sep12
Oct6
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Chester County

  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1893 (North Atlantic)15 August 1893 to 2 September 1893, Category 1 (75 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Able (1952)18 August 1952 to 3 September 1952, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 983 hPa
  • Gracie (1959)20 September 1959 to 2 October 1959, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 951 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1863 (North Atlantic)11 September 1863 to 20 September 1863, peak Tropical storm (60 kt)

Most recent storms near Chester County

  • Claudette (2021)17 June 2021 to 23 June 2021, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,003 hPa
  • Bertha (2020)27 May 2020 to 28 May 2020, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 1,005 hPa
  • Michael (2018)6 October 2018 to 15 October 2018, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 920 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Chester County

  • Gracie (1959)20 September 1959 to 2 October 1959, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 951 hPa

More in South Carolina

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.