York County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot South Carolina Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in York County is lower than South Carolina average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in York County is about the same as South Carolina average and is about the same as the national average.
Earthquake Index, #29
| York County | 0.12 |
| South Carolina | 0.49 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| York County | 0.0000 |
| South Carolina | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #28
| York County | 144.20 |
| South Carolina | 136.91 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 15,941 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of York County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 0 | Cold: | 33 | Dense Fog: | 9 | Drought: | 107 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 1,203 | Hail: | 4,939 | Heat: | 14 | Heavy Snow: | 97 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 13 | Ice Storm: | 57 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 124 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 8,269 | Tropical Storm: | 16 | Wildfire: | 4 | Winter Storm: | 107 | Winter Weather: | 102 |
| Other: | 847 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near York County.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near York County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 37.1 | 1945-07-26 | 5.6 | N/A | 34.5 | -81.5 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 48 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near York County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 4.7 | 1973-05-24 | 2 | 34°58'N / 81°16'W | 2.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | York | |
| 10.1 | 1973-05-28 | 2 | 35°06'N / 81°06'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | York | |
| 12.3 | 2004-09-07 | 2 | 35°05'N / 81°02'W | 35°06'N / 81°01'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 150K | 0 | Mecklenburg |
| Brief Description: This tornado moved north from South Carolina, and produced widespread damage to trees and power lines along its 2-mile path across the southwest corner of Mecklenburg County. The roof of a well-constructed home was blown off, and several other homes incurred shingle damage. A sheet of wallboard was torn off a garage wall and blown away. There was additional damage to automobiles and homes due to fallen trees. | |||||||||||
| 14.8 | 1994-04-16 | 2 | 34°45'N / 81°17'W | 34°47'N / 81°15'W | 3.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 1 | 4 | 5.0M | 0 | Chester |
| Brief Description: A short-lived, but intense, mesocyclone developed along a squall line ahead of a cold front at about 0045 EST and moved into western Chester County. The mesocyclone intensified within a matter of 10 to 20 minutes into a F2 tornado that touched down four miles southwest of Lowrys and moved four miles to near Lowrys before dissipating. Three mobile homes completely disintegrated, three barns crushed, a new pickup truck was completely destoyed, four mobile homes were damaged, four people were injured (one seriously) and another killed. More than 2000 residents lost electrical power due to the tornado. F64M. | |||||||||||
| 16.3 | 1992-03-10 | 2 | 35°07'N / 81°00'W | 35°09'N / 80°57'W | 3.40 Miles | 180 Yards | 0 | 18 | 2.5M | 0 | Mecklenburg |
| 20.7 | 2008-05-09 | 2 | 35°15'N / 81°10'W | 35°16'N / 81°00'W | 9.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 7.0M | 0K | Gaston |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado track began just southeast of Gastonia and continued well into Mecklenburg County on the northwest side of Charlotte. Where the tornado first touched down, part of the roof was blown off the roof of an office building near the intersection of Union Rd and Garrison Bvd. The tornado continued east-northeast to the Garrison Blvd, S New Hope Rd area, where numerous homes and businesses received minor to moderate roof damage and numerous large trees were uprooted. The tornado produced sporadic, mainly minor damage as it moved through McAdenville, where it crossed I-85, blowing several cars off the interstate. The most significant damage was observed in the Catawba Heights/ Belmont area, near I-85, where much of the metal roof was peeled from a large wharehouse, causing 7 million dollars in damage. Another industrial business in this area lost most of its roof. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A mini-supercell thunderstorms produced a tornado with a nearly 20 mile path through the Gastonia and Charlotte metro areas during the early morning hours of May 9th. | |||||||||||
| 24.2 | 1973-05-28 | 2 | 35°12'N / 80°59'W | 35°18'N / 80°52'W | 9.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mecklenburg |
| 26.1 | 1993-04-15 | 2 | 34°42'N / 81°35'W | 34°46'N / 81°30'W | 6.00 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 2 | 5.0M | 0 | Union |
| Brief Description: Exactly an hour after producing the first severe weather in the upstate, the supercell produced its strongest tornado in South Carolina. A high F1/low F2 tornado struck Union. Property damage resulting from the tornado's winds was estimated about $500,000. More hail damage is likely as the hail accumulated to great depths very quickly and near the tornado track was quite large. Winds were estimated from 60 to 90 mph in downtown sections where plate glass windows were blown out. There was also considerable damage to trees and power lines along with damage from the wind-driven hail. Nearer the tornado track damage was more severe with large trees crushing some homes. Mobile homes were damaged or destroyed, and a couple of houses lost roofs from the wind. The large hail quickly clogged storm drains and an estimated 2 to 3 inches of rain fell causing $50,000 in water damage to equipment in the hospital. Highest winds from south of Union to near Monarch were estimated at 115 mph in a small area. Two people were slighlty injured when a falling tree crushed their car. | |||||||||||
| 26.1 | 1990-02-10 | 2 | 35°12'N / 81°33'W | 0.40 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cleveland | |
| 28.4 | 1950-05-14 | 2 | 35°00'N / 80°41'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 5 | 0K | 0 | Union | |
| 29.4 | 1969-04-18 | 2 | 35°01'N / 81°42'W | 0.50 Mile | 83 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Cherokee | |
| 29.6 | 1994-08-16 | 3 | 34°38'N / 81°31'W | 34°59'N / 81°49'W | 30.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Union And Spartanburg |
| Brief Description: Tornado began near Santuc as a large multi-vortex F3 tornado. Spotters engaged the storm almost immediately and followed it as it curved north to northwest through the County. The storm had intermittent ground contact of about 30 to 40 percent but there was not a great deal of separation between areas of damage. The path width gradually diminished to about 50 yards from 0.75 mile initially, and the storm intensity gradually weakened to F2 and then to F1 at Pauline. The tornado crossed into Spartanburg County near Pacolet Mills at 1545EST. A well constructed home near Santuc was destroyed, a stationary vehicle was thrown aout 150 yds, and other homes and structures received severe damage along its path. | |||||||||||
| 30.5 | 1968-06-07 | 2 | 35°00'N / 80°35'W | 35°12'N / 80°45'W | 16.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mecklenburg |
| 31.0 | 1989-05-05 | 4 | 34°59'N / 80°44'W | 35°06'N / 80°33'W | 13.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 1 | 6 | 25.0M | 0 | Union |
| 31.3 | 1994-03-27 | 2 | 35°03'N / 82°03'W | 35°24'N / 81°14'W | 25.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Spartanburg |
| 31.4 | 1965-09-12 | 2 | 35°18'N / 80°48'W | 0.30 Mile | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mecklenburg | |
| 33.6 | 1973-05-27 | 3 | 35°10'N / 81°46'W | 35°18'N / 81°36'W | 13.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Cleveland |
| 34.9 | 1990-10-18 | 3 | 34°59'N / 80°41'W | 35°01'N / 80°27'W | 12.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Union |
| 35.2 | 1957-04-08 | 2 | 34°38'N / 81°47'W | 34°38'N / 81°31'W | 15.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Union |
| 35.8 | 1983-03-06 | 2 | 34°59'N / 80°33'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 9 | 2.5M | 0 | Union | |
| 37.7 | 2006-11-15 | 2 | 35°31'N / 81°04'W | 35°30'N / 81°04'W | 1.00 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: NWS survey found tornado damage path on the western shores of Lake Norman near Denver. Most of the damage was concentrated in the Lake Shore Rd and Blade Trail areas. Hundreds of trees were downed, many blocking roads, with some down on homes. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A narrow line of showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front during the evening hours of November 15th. As the line moved into North Carolina a series of tornadoes formed along a break in the line. In all, four tornadoes touched down from the east side of Gastonia to a few miles east of Statesville. The strongest tornado produced a small area of F2 damage. One person later died from injuries suffered in the last tornado in Iredell County. Areas of damaging straight line winds also occurred in other parts of the line. | |||||||||||
| 38.5 | 1989-05-05 | 4 | 35°10'N / 81°50'W | 35°11'N / 81°48'W | 3.00 Miles | 700 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Cherokee |
| 39.2 | 1989-05-05 | 4 | 35°11'N / 81°48'W | 35°15'N / 81°49'W | 6.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Rutherford |
| 40.1 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 34°22'N / 81°19'W | 34°25'N / 80°55'W | 21.00 Miles | 1000 Yards | 5 | 49 | 25.0M | 0 | Fairfield |
| 41.0 | 1989-05-05 | 4 | 35°05'N / 81°56'W | 35°10'N / 81°50'W | 6.00 Miles | 700 Yards | 2 | 35 | 2.5M | 0 | Spartanburg |
| 41.0 | 1969-04-18 | 2 | 34°28'N / 80°48'W | 0.80 Mile | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Kershaw | |
| 41.6 | 1989-05-05 | 4 | 35°28'N / 81°35'W | 35°32'N / 81°29'W | 5.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 30 | 25.0M | 0 | Cleveland |
| 41.7 | 1973-05-27 | 3 | 35°00'N / 82°03'W | 35°10'N / 81°46'W | 19.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 2.5M | 0 | Cherokee |
| 42.0 | 1998-05-07 | 2 | 35°33'N / 81°25'W | 35°33'N / 81°24'W | 2.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 212K | 0 | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: The same supercell that produced the tornado in McDowell county spawned a strong tornado in the Vale and Cat Square area. Four homes were destroyed, 50 homes were damaged, a church roof was partially blown off and numerous trees were downed. Supercell thunderstorms developed in a highly sheared atmosphere in eastern Tennessee then moved east across the mountains, foothills and western piedmont of North Carolina. These long-lived, cyclic supercells produced a considerable amount of large hail and some damaging winds in the mountains. The first tornado of the day in western North Carolina occurred in Madison county. Numerous reports of hail as large as golf balls were reported from the mountains. In Madison and Yancey counties, hail covered roads. More supercell thunderstorms developed behind the previous ones and followed similar tracks. In northern Buncombe county, the town of Barnardsville had three separate severe storms cross overhead and drop hail on the ground to a depth of 3 inches. Yancey county also had 3 separate storms move across the county that accumulated hail to 6 inches in depth. The hail was still on the ground the next morning. As the supercells moved into the foothills, they began to curve a little to the right, indicative of strong mesocyclonic circulations present. One supercell produced several tornadoes from Alexander county to Davie county. Another storm produced a tornado that tracked from western Caldwell county into south-central Alexander county. A third supercell that emerged out of the mountains in McDowell county produced several tornadoes from the southern part of that county to northern Mecklenburg county. Damage was fairly significant across western North Carolina with numerous homes either damaged or destroyed. Fortunately, no one was killed. However, 2 people were injured as a result of the violent F4 tornado in eastern Caldwell county. One person received minor injuries from a lightning strike in Yancey county later in the evening. The storms continued to reform in eastern Tennessee until very late in the evening and still produced large hail as they crossed the border into the mountain counties of North Carolina, before weakening shortly after midnight.. | |||||||||||
| 42.8 | 2010-10-26 | 2 | 35°32'N / 81°28'W | 35°34'N / 81°26'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 11 | 1.2M | 0K | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This strong tornado touched down near the intersection of Locust Trail and Tola Houser Lane. Several homes at the beginning of the track received major damage to the roof and exterior wall. One home was shifted off its foundation by nearly 20 feet, with an upstairs room removed. Two vehicles at this location were rolled several yards. The tornado moved northeast across Northbrook III School Rd. Several homes were damaged or destroyed and numerous trees snapped off or uprooted just north of the Reeps Grove Church Rd intersection. The damage path at this point was nearly 200 yards wide. The tornado continued northeast, crossing Macedonia Church Rd, Peeler Rd and Patriot Way, with additional homes as well as barns and a chicken house damaged or destroyed. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off in this area as well. As the tornado continued east northeast, damage became more intermittent in the area around Palm Tree Church Rd, where only the tops of trees were snapped. The tornado entered into Catawba County in the vicinity of Dansbury Lane. Eleven people were injured, two seriously. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Scattered supercell thunderstorms developed over the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia as strong wind shear and moderate instability overspread the region ahead of a strong cold front. A number of tornadoes were spawned by the storms. Two strong tornadoes affected the western piedmont and foothills of North Carolina. | |||||||||||
| 42.9 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 34°33'N / 80°37'W | 34°36'N / 80°35'W | 2.00 Miles | 530 Yards | 0 | 5 | 25.0M | 0 | Lancaster |
| 43.3 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 34°32'N / 80°38'W | 34°33'N / 80°37'W | 2.00 Miles | 530 Yards | 0 | 31 | 25.0M | 0 | Kershaw |
| 43.5 | 1984-03-28 | 3 | 34°20'N / 81°22'W | 34°21'N / 81°05'W | 15.00 Miles | 870 Yards | 0 | 10 | 2.5M | 0 | Fairfield |
| 43.6 | 1989-05-05 | 4 | 35°32'N / 81°29'W | 35°35'N / 81°27'W | 3.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 4 | 19 | 25.0M | 0 | Lincoln |
| 43.7 | 1957-04-08 | 4 | 34°38'N / 80°35'W | 34°39'N / 80°28'W | 6.80 Miles | 133 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Lancaster |
| 44.0 | 1975-11-12 | 2 | 34°40'N / 81°52'W | 0.70 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Edgefield | |
| 44.1 | 1985-08-17 | 2 | 34°58'N / 82°00'W | 35°06'N / 81°55'W | 9.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 39 | 2.5M | 0 | Spartanburg |
| 44.4 | 2004-09-27 | 2 | 34°20'N / 80°58'W | 34°22'N / 80°59'W | 2.00 Miles | 220 Yards | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | Fairfield |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado destroyed 5 mobile homes, did moderate to severe damage to 2 framed homes and injurred 13 people. One 57 year old male died. Two vehicles were moved 20 to 30 yards. M51MH | |||||||||||
| 44.5 | 1997-02-21 | 2 | 34°55'N / 81°58'W | 34°55'N / 81°58'W | 1.00 Mile | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 330K | 0 | Spartanburg |
| 44.6 | 1980-05-23 | 2 | 34°39'N / 81°52'W | 2.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Spartanburg | |
| 44.8 | 1980-05-18 | 2 | 35°06'N / 80°26'W | 35°07'N / 80°23'W | 3.30 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Union |
| 46.1 | 1984-03-28 | 3 | 34°19'N / 81°25'W | 34°20'N / 81°22'W | 4.00 Miles | 870 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Newberry |
| 46.5 | 1975-05-18 | 2 | 35°23'N / 81°50'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Rutherford | |||
| 47.0 | 1999-09-29 | 2 | 35°16'N / 80°26'W | 35°16'N / 80°26'W | 0.10 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Stanly |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down briefly and took the entire roof off a brick ranch. No other damage was noted in the area. A spotter was tracking the funnel. | |||||||||||
| 47.3 | 1952-05-10 | 3 | 34°48'N / 82°08'W | 34°48'N / 81°51'W | 16.10 Miles | 83 Yards | 2 | 4 | 0K | 0 | Spartanburg |
| 47.9 | 1989-05-05 | 4 | 35°35'N / 81°27'W | 35°41'N / 81°25'W | 6.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 3 | 25.0M | 0 | Catawba |
| 49.3 | 1989-04-04 | 2 | 34°54'N / 82°03'W | 2.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Spartanburg | |
| 49.7 | 1984-03-28 | 2 | 34°14'N / 81°45'W | 34°27'N / 81°28'W | 23.00 Miles | 1000 Yards | 1 | 38 | 25.0M | 0 | Newberry |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.