Charleston County

30 Year Climate Normals (Charleston City)
Max Temp. Mean Temp. Min Temp. Precip CDD HDD
1971-2000 73.5 F 67.0 F 60.4 F 46.39 Inches 2486 1755
1981-2010 72.9 F 66.7 F 60.6 F 44.42 Inches 2375 1736
1991-2020 73.3 F 67.2 F 61.1 F 44.26 Inches 2448 1623

Temperature Records (1893-2020)


Highest Maximum: 105 F, June 26 1952, Sullivans Island August 1, 1999; Charleston
Lowest Minimum: 4 F, January 21, 1985; McClellanville

Precipitation Records (1893-2020)


Highest Daily Rainfall (COOP): 11.50 inches, October 3, 2015; Charleston AFB
Highest Daily Rainfall (CoCoRaHS): 13.17 inches, October 4, 2015; Mount Pleasant 6.4 NE
Annual Average Rainfall: 45.30 inches
Wettest Year: 1994, 80.78 inches; Sullivan’s Island
Driest Year: 2000, 27.63 inches; Downtown Charleston
Highest Daily Snowfall: 6.5 inches, February 10, 1973; Charleston NAS

Severe Weather Events- Countywide

Tornado

48 Tornadoes (1950-2020)
  • E/F0: 24
  • E/F1: 20
  • E/F2: 3
  • E/F3: 1
  • E/F4: 0
    • Period Of Record: 1950-2020
    Strongest: F3 on September 11, 1960
    Longest Path: 8.8 miles on September 11, 1960
    Widest Path: 1760 yards on May 11, 2008
    0 tornado related fatalities
    17 tornado related injuries
    Total Damage Costs: $6 Million

    Thunderstorm, High, and Strong Wind Events

    521 Total Wind Events (winds exceeding 50 knots or 58 miles per hour, 1955-2020)
  • 463 Thunderstorm wind events
  • 12 High wind events
  • 46 Strong wind events
    • 3 Wind-related fatalities
    3 Wind-related injuries
    Total Damage Costs: $738,850

    Hail (>1.0 inch)


    159 Hail events (1955-2020)

    Lightning


    36 Lightning events (1993-2020)
    2 Lightning related fatalities
    11 Lightning related injuries
    Total Damage Costs: $1.155 Million

    Flood

    392 Total Flood Events (1993-2020)
  • 8 Flood Events
  • 166 Coastal Flood Events
  • 218 Flash Flood Events
    • 0 Flood-related fatalities
    3 Flood-related injuries
    Total Damage Costs: $20.403 Million

    Winter Weather-Related Events

    30 Total Winter Weather-Related Events
  • 1 Winter storm event
  • 7 Ice storm events
  • 19 Heavy snow events
  • 1 Frost/freeze event
  • 1 Winter weather event
  • 1 Cold/wind chill event
    • 1 Winter weather-related fatality
    0 Winter weather-related injuries
    Total Damage Costs: $233,000