Hurricanes that hit Dorchester County, South Carolina: hurricane history

74 storms have passed within 50 km of Dorchester County from 1852 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 Dorchester County

The record holds 74 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Dorchester County, South Carolina between 1852 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 26 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.

  • 74storms 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 Dorchester County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1115%
Tropical storm4155%
Category 11014%
Category 268%
Category 311%
Category 423%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity34%

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

Dorchester County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 10 in 1970s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2024, 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
1860s3
1870s5
1880s4
1890s6
1900s5
1910s4
1920s3
1940s3
1950s4
1960s3
1970s10
1980s5
1990s1
2000s3
2010s6
2020s5

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 26 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May5Jun8Jul7Aug12Sep26Oct13Nov3Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May5
Jun8
Jul7
Aug12
Sep26
Oct13
Nov3
Dec0

Strongest storms near Dorchester 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 July 1916 (North Atlantic)11 July 1916 to 15 July 1916, Category 2 (95 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 960 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1885 (North Atlantic)21 August 1885 to 28 August 1885, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 958 hPa

Most recent storms near Dorchester County

  • Debby (2024)2 August 2024 to 10 August 2024, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 980 hPa
  • 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

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 Dorchester 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

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