Ninety Six, SC Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Ninety Six is lower than South Carolina average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Ninety Six is higher than South Carolina average and is higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #244
| Ninety Six, SC | 0.16 |
| 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
| Ninety Six, 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, #9
| Ninety Six, SC | 184.63 |
| 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 3,904 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Ninety Six, 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: | 3 | Drought: | 57 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 166 | Hail: | 1,160 | Heat: | 11 | Heavy Snow: | 26 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 1 | Ice Storm: | 18 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 33 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 2,214 | Tropical Storm: | 6 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 27 | Winter Weather: | 19 |
| Other: | 150 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Ninety Six, SC.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 3 historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Ninety Six, SC.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 37.5 | 1945-07-26 | 5.6 | N/A | 34.5 | -81.5 |
| 33.9 | 1974-08-02 | 4.9 | 1 | 33.87 | -82.49 |
| 32.2 | 1968-09-22 | 3.7 | N/A | 34 | -81.5 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 57 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Ninety Six, SC.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 0.9 | 1973-12-13 | 4 | 34°11'N / 82°01'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 2 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenwood | |
| 1.6 | 1973-12-13 | 3 | 34°08'N / 82°10'W | 34°10'N / 81°54'W | 15.40 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 26 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenwood |
| 6.2 | 1989-11-15 | 2 | 34°13'N / 82°07'W | 0.70 Mile | 267 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Greenwood | |
| 7.1 | 1973-12-13 | 3 | 34°16'N / 82°03'W | 34°17'N / 81°59'W | 4.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Laurens |
| 8.0 | 1973-12-13 | 3 | 34°10'N / 81°54'W | 34°11'N / 81°52'W | 2.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Newberry |
| 8.1 | 1973-12-13 | 3 | 34°16'N / 82°10'W | 34°16'N / 82°03'W | 6.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenwood |
| 15.1 | 1973-03-31 | 4 | 34°15'N / 82°17'W | 34°16'N / 82°15'W | 2.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenwood |
| 17.6 | 1992-11-22 | 3 | 33°52'N / 82°08'W | 33°58'N / 81°53'W | 15.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Edgefield |
| 19.1 | 1960-03-30 | 2 | 34°25'N / 82°00'W | 34°27'N / 81°50'W | 9.80 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Laurens |
| 19.1 | 1956-04-06 | 2 | 34°08'N / 82°23'W | 34°12'N / 82°20'W | 5.40 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Abbeville |
| 19.3 | 1992-11-22 | 3 | 33°58'N / 81°53'W | 34°07'N / 81°34'W | 21.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 1 | 9 | 2.5M | 0 | Saluda |
| 20.6 | 1998-05-07 | 3 | 33°53'N / 82°02'W | 33°52'N / 81°57'W | 5.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 300K | 0 | Edgefield |
| Brief Description: An F3 tornado touched down near SC highway 61 and moved east to SC highway 36 taking down numerous trees and causing major and minor damage to several homes. | |||||||||||
| 21.1 | 2005-01-13 | 2 | 34°24'N / 82°08'W | 34°33'N / 82°01'W | 12.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.0M | 0 | Laurens |
| Brief Description: This tornado touched down in the Ekom Community southwest of the city of Laurens, where it damaged a couple of mobile homes. The tornado then tracked northeast to the area around Laurens High School, where some small sheds were destroyed and a portion of the roof removed from a house. At the high school, the roof of a brick concession facility was blown off. Just east of the school, a mobile home was destroyed and a building received significant roof damage. The tornado continued northeast toward the Whelon Rd area, uprooting and snapping off several large trees. A small, frame guest house was damaged and a tractor overturned in this area. The tornado continued to snap and uproot large trees as it moved toward Welcome Church Rd, where 4 mobile homes were damaged and a frame home received minor roof damage. The damage path continued northeast, but ended about 200 yards north of highway 14. After briefly lifting, the tornado struck a tire distribution center just north of the highway 221 I-385 exchange. The roof of a building at the plant was damaged, which sparked a large fire in the building, burning it to the ground. An employee at the plant received minor injuries when debris fell on him. The tornado dissipated near highway 221 north of Laurens. | |||||||||||
| 22.0 | 2009-04-10 | 2 | 34°11'N / 82°28'W | 34°10'N / 82°21'W | 7.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 2 | 1.0M | 0K | Abbeville |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: NWS survey found an extensive area of damage in the city of Abbeville consistent with a strong EF2 tornado. The tornado began near the intersection of highway 71 and Rock Hill Rd before moving east/southeast through the city of Abbeville. The main areas affected in the city were Church Street, McGowan, Ave, Main St, and especially Secession Ave. The roofs were blown off about a half dozen frame homes in the city, while numerous mobile homes were heavily damaged or destroyed. A few other office buildings and businesses received major roof damage in this area. Numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted along the path. One tree fell through a home, injuring the man inside. Another man caught outside received head injuries from flying debris. The tornado lifted about a mile east/southeast of the city. The tornado was produced by a supercell embedded in a line of rapidly moving storms. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Supercell thunderstorms moved into the western upstate in the early evening hours. As the evening progressed, the supercells tended to evolve into a series of bow echoes. Tornadoes were spawned by the supercells and the resultant bow echoes. There was also quite a bit of large hail and straight-line wind damage in places as well. The most significant damage occurred in Greenwood and Abbeville Counties, though tornadoes also caused damage in parts of Anderson and Union Counties as well. | |||||||||||
| 22.9 | 1973-03-31 | 4 | 34°05'N / 82°34'W | 34°15'N / 82°17'W | 19.90 Miles | 200 Yards | 7 | 30 | 2.5M | 0 | Abbeville |
| 23.1 | 1992-11-22 | 2 | 33°53'N / 81°50'W | 34°06'N / 81°32'W | 29.00 Miles | 550 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Saluda |
| 25.1 | 1992-11-22 | 3 | 33°49'N / 82°17'W | 33°52'N / 82°08'W | 8.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mccormick |
| 25.8 | 1998-05-07 | 2 | 33°50'N / 81°53'W | 33°50'N / 81°47'W | 6.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 2 | 500K | 0 | Edgefield |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado touched down west of Johnston and moved into the community just after 8 pm EDT causing major damage to several homes and businesses. | |||||||||||
| 26.3 | 1973-12-13 | 3 | 34°12'N / 81°43'W | 34°14'N / 81°25'W | 17.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Newberry |
| 26.4 | 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 |
| 26.4 | 1973-05-27 | 2 | 34°18'N / 82°31'W | 34°24'N / 82°21'W | 11.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Abbeville |
| 27.6 | 2008-03-15 | 3 | 34°13'N / 81°45'W | 34°12'N / 81°20'W | 24.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 2 | 2 | 0K | 0K | Newberry |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: NWS Storm Survey found an EF3 tornado touched down near Silverstreet and continued east through Prosperity then crossed into Richald county where it dissipated. Many homes in Prosperity were heavily damaged. Numerous trees and powerlines were down. There were 2 injuries. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Seven supercells tracked across our South Carolina County Warning Area and produced many long-lived tornadoes that did significant damage. Over 85 homes were destroyed, around 400 had moderate damage, and estimates for the total devastation were around 40 million dollars. | |||||||||||
| 28.3 | 1992-11-22 | 2 | 34°06'N / 81°32'W | 34°07'N / 81°32'W | 1.00 Mile | 550 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Newberry |
| 28.4 | 1984-03-28 | 2 | 34°33'N / 82°05'W | 34°37'N / 81°55'W | 10.00 Miles | 700 Yards | 0 | 43 | 25.0M | 0 | Laurens |
| 32.3 | 1992-11-22 | 3 | 34°07'N / 81°34'W | 34°16'N / 81°21'W | 18.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Newberry |
| 32.8 | 1955-03-13 | 2 | 33°51'N / 81°40'W | 33°53'N / 81°30'W | 9.90 Miles | 133 Yards | 2 | 10 | 250K | 0 | Saluda |
| 34.2 | 1980-05-23 | 2 | 34°39'N / 81°52'W | 2.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Spartanburg | |
| 34.2 | 2010-03-28 | 2 | 33°59'N / 81°30'W | 34°02'N / 81°25'W | 5.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.0M | 10K | Lexington |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 with max winds of 125mph touched down near Ridge Road and continued northeast to Lake Murray. Around 40 homes had some form of damage with numerous trees and powerlines down. Several vehicles were also damaged and there was one minor injury. One horse was killed when a portion of a barn collapsed. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several supercell thunderstorms moved through the CSRA and Midlands and spawned several tornadoes. Many homes were damaged in Lexington county with several others in Edgefield county. Numerous trees were also taken down. | |||||||||||
| 35.2 | 1998-05-07 | 2 | 33°43'N / 82°18'W | 33°43'N / 82°18'W | 0.50 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 350K | 0 | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado destroyed 7 homes and did major and minor damage to about a dozen others at Indian Cove. | |||||||||||
| 35.3 | 1975-11-12 | 2 | 34°40'N / 81°52'W | 0.70 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Edgefield | |
| 35.7 | 1998-05-07 | 3 | 33°40'N / 82°04'W | 33°39'N / 81°51'W | 12.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 1 | 9 | 1.0M | 0 | Edgefield |
| Brief Description: An F3 tornado either destroyed or severely damaged around 60 homes and mobile homes and a church. One person was killed when her mobile home took a direct hit and was completely destroyed. Widespread trees were taken down. F38MH | |||||||||||
| 35.7 | 1992-11-22 | 3 | 33°41'N / 82°29'W | 33°49'N / 82°17'W | 5.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Lincoln |
| 36.1 | 1960-03-30 | 2 | 34°15'N / 81°27'W | 34°16'N / 81°21'W | 5.90 Miles | 57 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Newberry |
| 37.2 | 2010-03-28 | 2 | 33°37'N / 82°02'W | 33°39'N / 82°00'W | 2.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 20K | Edgefield |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 tornado touched down on hwy 230 near Stevens Creek and took down numerous trees and powerlines. Two homes had moderate damage and a mobile home had half of its roof torn off. A motor home was also crushed from a tree falling on it. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several supercell thunderstorms moved through the CSRA and Midlands and spawned several tornadoes. Many homes were damaged in Lexington county with several others in Edgefield county. Numerous trees were also taken down. | |||||||||||
| 37.5 | 1973-12-13 | 2 | 34°10'N / 81°24'W | 34°10'N / 81°20'W | 3.80 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Newberry |
| 37.6 | 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 |
| 37.8 | 1998-05-07 | 2 | 33°46'N / 82°28'W | 33°46'N / 82°28'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 8 | 300K | 0 | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado hit the Pine Woods subdivision destryoing 12 homes and causing major damage to 15 homes and minor damage to 8 homes. | |||||||||||
| 38.0 | 2008-03-15 | 2 | 34°00'N / 82°43'W | 34°01'N / 82°36'W | 8.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0K | Elbert |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: NWS survey found a tornado damage track in far southern and southeast Elbert County. The tornado, which was spawned from a supercell, touched down southeast of Fortsonia near the intersection of River Rd and Flatwoods Rd. As the tornado tracked east along River Rd, damage was mainly confined to trees and power lines. The tornado began to take on a more east/southeast track near the intersection of River Rd and Balchin Rd, remaining just north of the Wilkes County line. Intensification occurred just west of highway 79 near its intersection with Cooter Creek Rd. The tornado continued to track east southeast, snapping or uprooting numerous trees between Cooter Creek Rd and the Broad River. Two homes received heavy roof damage consistent with EF2 intensity on Bramblett Circle along the Broad River. A boat dock was also lifted and tossed 25 feet in this area. The tornado continued to blow down trees before finally lifting in Bobby Brown State Park in the extreme southeast corner of the county. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several supercell thunderstorms affected the mountains and foothills of extreme northeast Georgia during the afternoon and early evening hours. Very large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes accompanied the storms. | |||||||||||
| 38.2 | 1980-04-13 | 2 | 34°23'N / 82°45'W | 34°34'N / 82°25'W | 22.80 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Anderson |
| 38.3 | 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 |
| 38.6 | 1980-04-13 | 2 | 34°34'N / 82°25'W | 34°43'N / 82°22'W | 10.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenville |
| 39.7 | 1957-04-05 | 2 | 33°50'N / 81°32'W | 34°02'N / 81°15'W | 21.30 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Lexington |
| 41.3 | 2003-02-22 | 2 | 33°35'N / 82°13'W | 33°36'N / 82°11'W | 2.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 310K | 2K | Columbia |
| Brief Description: A combination of an intense microburst and a tornado produced winds estimated at 120-130mph. A barn and camper trailer. Moderate damage was done to 4 homes with minor damage to 34 other homes. Debris from the barn was found a mile downstream. The microburst width was 1/8-1/4 mile wide with the vortex circulation about 50 yds wide. | |||||||||||
| 41.7 | 1973-11-21 | 2 | 34°29'N / 82°39'W | 0.30 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Anderson | |
| 43.3 | 1973-12-13 | 2 | 34°12'N / 81°32'W | 34°12'N / 81°00'W | 30.50 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Newberry |
| 43.4 | 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 |
| 44.4 | 1952-05-10 | 3 | 34°48'N / 82°15'W | 34°48'N / 82°08'W | 6.60 Miles | 83 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Greenville |
| 44.8 | 1974-04-08 | 3 | 34°25'N / 82°45'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Anderson | |
| 47.0 | 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 |
| 47.1 | 1964-08-29 | 2 | 34°08'N / 81°12'W | 1.00 Mile | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Richland | |
| 47.5 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 47.6 | 1994-08-16 | 3 | 33°55'N / 81°15'W | 0.30 Mile | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lexington | |
| Brief Description: Tornado completely destroyed a square stick frame home. | |||||||||||
| 48.1 | 1994-08-16 | 2 | 33°54'N / 81°15'W | 2.00 Miles | 25 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lexington | |
| Brief Description: Tornado demolished the north portion of a mini-warehouse complex near the SC602 and SC6 intersection. It moved northward and overturned three cars in Redbank, blew down trees and power lines. | |||||||||||
| 48.4 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 49.3 | 1989-04-04 | 2 | 34°45'N / 82°32'W | 34°46'N / 82°30'W | 2.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Anderson |
| 49.3 | 1973-05-27 | 3 | 34°46'N / 82°26'W | 34°55'N / 82°13'W | 16.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 17 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenville |
| 49.9 | 1989-04-04 | 2 | 34°46'N / 82°30'W | 34°49'N / 82°27'W | 3.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenville |
* 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.