Hurricanes that hit Richland County, South Carolina: hurricane history

57 storms have passed within 50 km of Richland County from 1851 to 2024, coloured by intensity on the map.

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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 Richland County

The record holds 57 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Richland County, South Carolina between 1851 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 16 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 4 strength. 3 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 57storms within 50 km
  • 2major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 8at 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 Richland County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1221%
Tropical storm3460%
Category 147%
Category 224%
Category 300%
Category 424%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity35%

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

Richland County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 1850s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1851, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s5
1860s4
1870s3
1880s5
1890s3
1900s2
1910s3
1920s1
1930s1
1940s3
1950s4
1960s2
1970s4
1980s4
1990s3
2000s3
2010s3
2020s4

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 16 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May2Jun7Jul9Aug11Sep16Oct11Nov1Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun7
Jul9
Aug11
Sep16
Oct11
Nov1
Dec0

Strongest storms near Richland County

  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, Category 4 (120 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Gracie (1959)20 September 1959 to 2 October 1959, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 951 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1893 (North Atlantic)15 August 1893 to 2 September 1893, Category 2 (90 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1896 (North Atlantic)22 September 1896 to 30 September 1896, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 960 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1878 (North Atlantic)1 September 1878 to 13 September 1878, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 970 hPa

Most recent storms near Richland County

  • Debby (2024)2 August 2024 to 10 August 2024, Tropical storm (40 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 980 hPa
  • Elsa (2021)30 June 2021 to 10 July 2021, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 991 hPa
  • Claudette (2021)17 June 2021 to 23 June 2021, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,003 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 Richland County

  • David (1979)25 August 1979 to 8 September 1979, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 924 hPa
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Florence (2018)30 August 2018 to 18 September 2018, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Gracie (1959)20 September 1959 to 2 October 1959, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 951 hPa

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