States › Virginia › Albemarle County

Albemarle County, Virginia

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 51003 · 113,535 residents (2021) · 720 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 82Tornado · 11Flood · 227Wind · 535Winter · 143

Albemarle County within Virginia. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 1,165 storm events in Albemarle County, Virginia, led by damaging wind.

That is 161.7 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Virginia figure of 146.4, and 102.6 per 10,000 residents against 66.9 statewide.

31 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 17 deaths and 101 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $6.2M and crop damage at $12M.

FEMA has designated the county in 25 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 23 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 123 claims since 1978, of which 102 were paid, totalling $1.3M (about $13K per paid claim). FEMA counts 170 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($40M a year across 18 hazards).

29 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

31events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,165events since 195017 deaths, 101 injuries recorded

25disaster declarationslast 23 Jan 2026

123NFIP flood claims$1.3M paid

Compared with Virginia and the United States

Measure	Albemarle County	Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,165	57,789	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	161.7	146.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	102.6	66.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	31	1,941	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	17	239	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$6.2M	$2.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.1	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$13K	$19K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	9.4	4.3	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 7

Hail: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 9

Hail: 6Flood: 11Wind: 27Winter: 17Heat: 4Cold: 2Drought: 6Lightning: 2

Hail: 20Tornado: 6Flood: 28Wind: 74Winter: 31Tropical: 1Heat: 7Cold: 9Drought: 1Wildfire: 2Lightning: 5Fog: 11Other: 11

Hail: 37Tornado: 1Flood: 103Wind: 286Winter: 65Tropical: 1Heat: 16Cold: 16Fog: 44

Hail: 15Tornado: 1Flood: 85Wind: 129Winter: 30Heat: 2Cold: 8Lightning: 3Fog: 16

31950s91960s21970s121980s751990s2062000s5692010s2892020s

Recorded events in Albemarle County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 933 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 196 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind535

Flood227

Winter143

Hail82

Fog71

Cold35

Heat29

Tornado11

Other11

Lightning10

Drought7

Tropical2

Wildfire2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	535	2	2.3%	detail
■ Flood	227	4	2.8%	detail
■ Winter	143	—	1.4%	detail
■ Hail	82	—	1.3%	detail
■ Fog	71	—	4.1%
■ Cold	35	—	2.0%
■ Heat	29	—	2.2%
■ Tornado	11	11	1.2%	detail
■ Other	11	—	0.4%
■ Lightning	10	—	1.9%
■ Drought	7	—	0.8%
■ Tropical	2	—	0.6%
■ Wildfire	2	—	4.7%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
30 Sep 1959	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	11	4	County
30 May 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$20K	—	2	—	County
29 Jun 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	—	—	1	3	County
19 Jan 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
29 Jun 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	—	—	1	—	County
13 May 2025	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
18 Sep 2003	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$2.0M	$500K	—	65	Forecast zone
7 Jun 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	12	Forecast zone
30 Jun 2005	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	5	County
2 Jul 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250	—	—	2	County
13 Jun 1998	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	2	County
28 Aug 2003	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	2	County
24 Jun 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	63 mph	$25K	—	—	1	County
1 Feb 2002	Strong Wind	Wind	—	$15K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
28 Aug 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$15K	—	—	1	County
2 Jun 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
20 Jun 2001	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
28 Aug 2021	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
1 Aug 1999	Drought	Drought	—	—	$8.4M	—	—	Forecast zone
10 Apr 1997	Frost/Freeze	Cold	—	—	$1.5M	—	—	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
23 Jan 2026	EM-3631	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
1 Oct 2024	DR-4831	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Helene	Public assistance
11 Mar 2022	DR-4644	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
2 Apr 2020	DR-4512	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3448	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
11 Sep 2018	EM-3403	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	Public assistance
7 Mar 2016	DR-4262	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
29 Oct 2012	EM-3359	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
27 Jul 2012	DR-4072	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds	Public assistance
4 Nov 2011	DR-4042	Major disaster	Earthquake	Earthquake	Individual assistance
27 Apr 2010	DR-1905	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms	Public assistance
16 Feb 2010	DR-1874	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
12 Sep 2005	EM-3240	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
18 Sep 2003	DR-1491	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isabel	Individual assistance, Public assistance
20 Nov 2001	FM-2394	Fire management assistance	Fire	Va - Heard Mountain Fire Complex - 11/20/2001	Public assistance
28 Feb 2000	DR-1318	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
6 Sep 1996	DR-1135	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Fran And Associated Severe Storm Cond	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Jan 1996	DR-1086	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96 (Severe Snow Storm)	Public assistance
1 Jul 1995	DR-1059	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 Apr 1994	DR-1021	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Public assistance
25 Mar 1993	EM-3112	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
23 Jul 1977	EM-3046	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
10 Oct 1972	DR-359	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Jun 1972	DR-339	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Agnes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Aug 1969	DR-274	Major disaster	Hurricane	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Albemarle County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978123

Paid claims102

Total paid$1.3M

Average paid claim$13K

Repetitive-loss properties140 severe

Residential policies in force1700.4% of 38,375 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$2,792	$2,792
2024	4	3	$41,970	$13,990
2021	1	0	$0	—
2018	10	10	$183,233	$18,323
2015	2	0	$0	—
2014	1	1	$1,856	$1,856
2013	3	2	$7,759	$3,879
2010	3	0	$0	—
2009	1	1	$16,763	$16,763
2006	1	1	$6,525	$6,525
2005	2	1	$64,361	$64,361
2004	2	2	$3,143	$1,571
2003	2	1	$17,334	$17,334
2002	1	1	$37,517	$37,517
2000	1	0	$0	—
1998	3	2	$33,736	$16,868
1996	7	6	$71,401	$11,900
1995	4	4	$77,680	$19,420
1990	1	1	$2,019	$2,019
1989	1	1	$8,607	$8,607
1987	33	29	$226,617	$7,814
1985	30	28	$416,835	$14,887
1982	3	2	$60,725	$30,362
1979	4	4	$27,437	$6,859
1978	2	1	$1,804	$1,804

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 78.1 of 100

Expected annual loss$40MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$27,459,265
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$3,099,270
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$2,969,354
Strong wind	Relatively High	$2,163,969
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,400,171
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$917,102
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$874,710
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$683,490
Hail	Relatively Low	$260,163
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$136,278
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$119,999
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$110,206
Cold wave	Very Low	$96,398
Landslide	Relatively Low	$26,981
Avalanche	Very Low	$551

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles29

Tracks within 50 miles8

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Isaias	2020	98 mi	69 mph
Zeta	2020	25 mi	52 mph
Isabel	2003	44 mi	58 mph
Fran	1996	95 mi	46 mph
David	1979	59 mi	46 mph
Diane	1955	21 mi	52 mph
Able	1952	6 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	44 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	85 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	65 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	93 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	87 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	87 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	60 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	57 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	66 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	96 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	42 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	79 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	32 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	53 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	95 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	44 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1883	79 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1882	93 mi	46 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Albemarle County, VA?

NCEI records 82 hail events in Albemarle County since 1950, in 27 different years; that is about 1.1 recorded events a year. 19 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Albemarle County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 11 tornadoes in Albemarle County since 1950, 2 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 11.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Albemarle County?

23 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 25 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Albemarle County, and how much was paid?

123 NFIP claims since 1978, 102 of them paid, for $1.3M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Albemarle County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Albemarle County compare with the rest of Virginia?

161.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 146.4 statewide, and 1.1 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 5.9. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.