USA.com / South Carolina / Beaufort County / Laurel Bay, SC / Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Laurel Bay, SC Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Laurel Bay is lower than South Carolina average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Laurel Bay is much lower than South Carolina average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #414
| Laurel Bay, SC | 0.09 |
| 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
| Laurel Bay, SC | 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, #472
| Laurel Bay, SC | 62.00 |
| 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 2,396 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Laurel Bay, SC 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: | 13 | Dense Fog: | 2 | Drought: | 37 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 165 | Hail: | 532 | Heat: | 21 | Heavy Snow: | 4 |
| High Surf: | 6 | Hurricane: | 4 | Ice Storm: | 2 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 17 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,452 | Tropical Storm: | 17 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 2 | Winter Weather: | 0 |
| Other: | 122 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Laurel Bay, SC.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Laurel Bay, SC.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 47.8 | 1974-11-22 | 4.7 | 18 | 32.9 | -80.15 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 13 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Laurel Bay, SC.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 20.1 | 1998-09-03 | 2 | 32°21'N / 80°26'W | 32°26'N / 80°28'W | 15.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 1 | 4 | 360K | 0 | Beaufort |
| Brief Description: Thirteen homes were destroyed and another thirteen were heavily damaged, most of them were mobile homes. One mobile home was flipped in the air and smashed to the ground where a 66 -year old female was crushed to death. Numerous trees were snapped off 5 to 15 feet above the ground with others uprooted. The worse of the damage was concentrated in an area approximately 2.5 to 3 miles long across Fripp Island to near Morgan Island. The tornado then crossed the St Helena Sound and moved into Colleton County. F66MH | |||||||||||
| 26.1 | 2008-03-15 | 2 | 32°19'N / 81°12'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3.0M | 0K | Effingham | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 Tornado was confirmed by a Storm Survey conducted by the Charleston, South Carolina National Weather Service Forecast Office. The Tornado touched down in Effingham county 3.5 miles northeast of Rincon, Georgia and just northwest of the Georgia Power McIntosh Plant around 944 PM EDT and traveled southeast approximately a half a mile before lifting at 945 PM EDT. This Tornado destroyed a water cooling tower, damaged another water cooling tower and several buildings, toppled two high voltage transmission towers, knocked down or uprooted several dozen trees, tossed tractor trailer cargo containers with equipment inside up to 100 yards. In addition, at the time of the survey one of the tractor trailer containers could not be found. A steel hoist roof assembly weighing a couple thousand pounds used to load and unload heavy items was tossed 100 feet. This tornado was up to 100 yards wide and had maximum sustained winds estimated between 120 and 130 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A large and intense area of low pressure lifted northward through the central Appalachians, dragging a strong cold front toward southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia. The combination of the approaching cold front along with strong dynamic forcing and plenty of instability resulted in a widespread organized severe weather outbreak across the region. | |||||||||||
| 26.3 | 1975-05-03 | 2 | 32°29'N / 81°16'W | 32°32'N / 81°12'W | 5.40 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Effingham |
| 27.7 | 2008-03-15 | 2 | 32°23'N / 81°18'W | 32°22'N / 81°12'W | 7.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 5 | 1.5M | 0K | Effingham |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 Tornado was confirmed by a Storm Survey conducted by the Charleston, South Carolina National Weather Service Forecast Office. The Tornado touched down in Effingham county 1 mile northeast of Springfield, Georgia at 934 PM EDT and traveled southeast approximately 7 miles before lifting at 943 PM EDT about 6 miles east-southeast of Springfield, Georgia. This Tornado destroyed three mobile homes, damaged three to four dozen homes, knocked down 15 high voltage transmission towers, destroyed or damaged 20 vehicles, destroyed numerous outbuildings, sheds, and barns. Five people were injured when the mobile home they were in was blown over and rolled a time or two. Another person was injured when they drove a car into a tree that had fallen across the road. This tornado was a quarter mile wide at its widest point when it crossed Ebenezer Road and had maximum sustained winds estimated between 110 and 120 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A large and intense area of low pressure lifted northward through the central Appalachians, dragging a strong cold front toward southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia. The combination of the approaching cold front along with strong dynamic forcing and plenty of instability resulted in a widespread organized severe weather outbreak across the region. | |||||||||||
| 30.9 | 1970-05-25 | 2 | 32°01'N / 80°51'W | 2.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Chatham | |
| 31.6 | 1972-10-27 | 2 | 32°22'N / 81°19'W | 1.00 Mile | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Effingham | |
| 33.3 | 1980-05-23 | 2 | 32°03'N / 81°05'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Chatham | |
| 33.4 | 1961-09-13 | 2 | 32°04'N / 81°07'W | 0.20 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Chatham | |
| 36.3 | 1973-11-09 | 2 | 32°00'N / 81°05'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Chatham | |
| 37.7 | 1998-04-09 | 2 | 32°11'N / 81°25'W | 32°14'N / 81°18'W | 8.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 500K | 0 | Effingham |
| Brief Description: The Bryan County tornado crossed the county line and weakened as it moved into a less populated area. Once the tornado moved east of GA State Road 17, it lifted. There were no further reports of damage or touchdowns from the parent supercell until the F1 touchdown reported just west of Hardeeville, S.C., which is approximately 12 miles from the last report of damage in Effingham County, Georgia. There were 40 homes damaged along GA 17, about 5 miles south of Guyton. Six of these were mobile homes that were destroyed. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off 10 to 15 feet above the ground. | |||||||||||
| 42.5 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 32°41'N / 80°12'W | 32°40'N / 80°00'W | 12.00 Miles | 1760 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.2M | 0K | Charleston |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A confirmed EF-2 Tornado initially touched down along Bears Bluff Road on Wadmalaw Island, where minor damage was observed. The damage at the initial touchdown location was confined to several trees getting sheared off near the base or twisted to the ground. The Tornado then traveled east and crossed the Maybank Highway on Wadmalaw Island where major damage was observed. The majority of the damage occurred on the 4800 block of Maybank Highway, where nearly all the trees in the path of the Tornado were twisted to the ground or sheared off near the base. Numerous homes were damaged as the Tornado ripped through, with many sustaining roof and shingle damage. In fact, two homes had a section of there roofs detached and hurled approximately 50 to 100 feet away from the residences. A detached garage also sustained damage, when the suction from the Tornado caused the garage door to get buckled inward into the garage itself, and portions of the tin roof was ripped away and displaced 50 to 75 feet from the garage. A cinder block wall on another home sustained severe damage when a large section of cinder blocks was torn from the wall and hurled into the home. Additionally, a chain link fence around the residence was ripped off and displaced 20 to 30 feet from the supporting poles which held the fence in place. Another home sustained severe damage, as the front porch of the residence was detached and tossed 100 to 150 feet. The same home had the roof lifted 2 to 3 inches from the supporting walls, and a large window curtain was actually pulled upward and into the attic as the Tornado moved through. Quite a bit of damage was also observed in the Long Creek Plantation subdivision, where significant tree damage was observed along with several homes sustaining some minor roof damage. The Tornado then moved onto Johns Island and crossed Bohicket Road. Moderate damage was observed as it moved through this area of Johns Island. The majority of the damage was confined to trees being sheared off near the base or twisted to the ground. Several homes did sustain some minor roof damage as shingles were lifted and displaced from the residences. Minor damage was observed on River Road when the Tornado weakened before lifting just south of the Charleston Executive Airport. The damage along River Road was confined primarily to several downed trees. A tin roof of a shed sustained minor damage as well, as it lifted slightly but remained intact. The Maximum sustained winds were estimated to be 120 mph with this Tornado. The total path length was 12 miles, with a path width of 1 mile when it crossed Maybank Highway and six tenths of a mile when it crossed Bohicket Road. Although significant damage occurred, no injuries were reported. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front lifted northward through southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia during the morning, with a strong cold front then sweeping through the area during the evening. This resulted in several rounds of severe weather across the region. | |||||||||||
| 45.6 | 1998-04-09 | 3 | 32°10'N / 81°35'W | 32°13'N / 81°25'W | 8.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 2 | 16 | 2.2M | 0 | Bryan |
| Brief Description: Tornado first touched down just northeast of Pembroke and then crossed I-16 at the Olive Branch Road overpass (about 2 miles west of exit 29) then continued northeast. Significant damage occurred in the Olive Branch Rd. area and also just north of Blitchton, where a 38 year-old female and a 41 year old male were killed along with 15 injured. There were seventy-four (74) homes and other buildiings damaged, with fourteen of those destroyed (6 mobile homes, two frame houses, two brick homes, and four other buildings. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off 10 to 15 feet above the ground. F38MH, M41MH | |||||||||||
| 48.7 | 2003-07-01 | 2 | 32°41'N / 81°36'W | 32°45'N / 81°32'W | 6.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Screven |
| Brief Description: A tornado knocked down numerous trees and power lines and overturned a car. Much of WFO Charleston's CWA was impacted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill as it tracked to the northeast across the extreme northern section of Georgia. The mini outbreak of tornadoes started around 8 p.m. on the night of July 1st and did not stop until after 115 a.m. on the morning of July 2nd. Fortunately, there were no deaths with the tornadoes. Screven County was hardest hit with three separate tornadoes and three areas of wind damage. | |||||||||||
* 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.