Hurricanes that hit Colleton County, South Carolina: hurricane history

81 storms have passed within 50 km of Colleton County from 1852 to 2023, 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 Colleton County

The record holds 81 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Colleton County, South Carolina between 1852 and 2023. The busiest month is September, with 27 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.

  • 81storms within 50 km
  • 3major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 19at 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 Colleton County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1417%
Tropical storm4556%
Category 1911%
Category 279%
Category 311%
Category 422%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity34%

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

Colleton County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 9 in 1970s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2023, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1852, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s4
1860s5
1870s4
1880s5
1890s6
1900s6
1910s4
1920s3
1930s1
1940s4
1950s5
1960s3
1970s9
1980s7
1990s1
2000s3
2010s7
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 27 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May4Jun11Jul7Aug14Sep27Oct15Nov3Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May4
Jun11
Jul7
Aug14
Sep27
Oct15
Nov3
Dec0

Strongest storms near Colleton 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 September 1893 (North Atlantic)25 September 1893 to 15 October 1893, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 955 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1885 (North Atlantic)21 August 1885 to 28 August 1885, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 958 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

Most recent storms near Colleton County

  • Idalia (2023)26 August 2023 to 8 September 2023, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 945 hPa
  • Colin (2022)1 July 2022 to 2 July 2022, peak Tropical storm (35 kt), 1,011 hPa
  • Elsa (2021)30 June 2021 to 10 July 2021, Tropical storm (40 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 991 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 Colleton County

  • David (1979)25 August 1979 to 8 September 1979, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 924 hPa
  • Matthew (2016)28 September 2016 to 10 October 2016, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 934 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
  • Idalia (2023)26 August 2023 to 8 September 2023, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 945 hPa
  • Alma (1966)5 June 1966 to 14 June 1966, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 970 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.