A storage control system monitors storage operations directed to storage blocks in a storage device. The storage control system uses arrays of counters to track a number of the storage operations, sizes of the storage operations, types of transitions between the storage operations, and time durations between different types of successive storage operations. The storage blocks are classified into different behavioral groups based on the access pattern history of the individual blocks. The behavioral group classifications are then used by the storage control system to determine when to access the storage blocks from the storage device, when to load the storage blocks into a tiering media, or when to time out the storage blocks from the tiering media.