States › Virginia › Amherst County

Amherst 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 51009 · 31,273 residents (2021) · 474 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 70Tornado · 4Flood · 45Wind · 240Winter · 68

Amherst 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 469 storm events in Amherst County, Virginia, led by damaging wind.

That is 99.0 events per 100 square miles, below the Virginia figure of 146.4, and 150.0 per 10,000 residents against 66.9 statewide.

17 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 4 deaths and 13 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $7.1M and crop damage at $1.3M.

FEMA has designated the county in 23 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 53 claims since 1978, of which 41 were paid, totalling $756K (about $18K per paid claim). FEMA counts 40 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($6.5M a year across 18 hazards).

24 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.

17events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

469events since 19504 deaths, 13 injuries recorded

23disaster declarationslast 23 Jan 2026

53NFIP flood claims$756K paid

Compared with Virginia and the United States

Measure	Amherst County	Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	469	57,789	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	99.0	146.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	150.0	66.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	17	1,941	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	4	239	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$7.1M	$2.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.7	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$18K	$19K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	2.5	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

Wind: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 1Wind: 5

Hail: 10Tornado: 1Flood: 7Wind: 21Winter: 11Cold: 6Drought: 6

Hail: 15Flood: 17Wind: 65Winter: 22Tropical: 1Cold: 3Drought: 1Lightning: 4Other: 1

Hail: 36Tornado: 2Flood: 17Wind: 102Winter: 25Tropical: 1Lightning: 2Other: 3

Hail: 7Flood: 4Wind: 45Winter: 10Heat: 1Drought: 10Other: 3

01950s11960s31970s61980s621990s1292000s1882010s802020s

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

Trend: 305 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 148 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

Wind240

Hail70

Winter68

Flood45

Drought17

Cold9

Other7

Lightning6

Tornado4

Tropical2

Heat1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	240	1	1.0%	detail
■ Hail	70	—	1.1%	detail
■ Winter	68	1	0.7%	detail
■ Flood	45	1	0.6%	detail
■ Drought	17	—	2.0%
■ Cold	9	—	0.5%
■ Other	7	—	0.3%
■ Lightning	6	—	1.1%
■ Tornado	4	—	0.4%
■ Tropical	2	—	0.6%
■ Heat	1	1	0.1%

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
17 Dec 2016	Winter Weather	Winter	—	$20K	—	1	5	Forecast zone
4 May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$15K	—	1	—	County
22 Feb 2003	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
31 Jul 2025	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
15 Apr 2018	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$4.3M	—	—	7	County
11 Aug 2001	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
8 Apr 2007	Frost/Freeze	Cold	—	—	$500K	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Nov 2005	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$325K	—	—	—	County
1 Oct 1998	Drought	Drought	—	—	$300K	—	—	Forecast zone
6 Sep 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
9 Apr 1997	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	$200K	—	—	Forecast zone
10 Apr 1997	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	$200K	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Jun 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	$200K	—	—	—	County
21 Aug 2014	Lightning	Lightning	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
19 Jan 1996	High Wind	Wind	—	$100K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Jan 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County
25 Jan 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County

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
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
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
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
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
10 Mar 1994	DR-1014	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Ice Storms, Flooding	Public assistance
25 Mar 1993	EM-3112	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
19 May 1992	DR-944	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Nov 1985	DR-755	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Jul 1977	EM-3046	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
15 Oct 1976	EM-3018	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 Amherst County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197853

Paid claims41

Total paid$756K

Average paid claim$18K

Repetitive-loss properties22 severe

Residential policies in force400.3% of 13,335 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2018	1	1	$116,239	$116,239
2016	2	0	$0	—
2015	1	1	$618	$618
2014	1	0	$0	—
2013	1	1	$4,039	$4,039
2003	1	1	$41,786	$41,786
1999	1	0	$0	—
1998	1	1	$265	$265
1996	12	9	$217,796	$24,200
1995	3	2	$3,391	$1,695
1994	2	2	$7,936	$3,968
1993	3	2	$14,888	$7,444
1991	1	1	$3,251	$3,251
1990	1	1	$11,394	$11,394
1989	3	3	$33,485	$11,162
1987	2	1	$7,350	$7,350
1986	1	0	$0	—
1985	6	6	$269,468	$44,911
1984	2	2	$4,245	$2,123
1983	2	2	$4,705	$2,352
1982	1	1	$3,833	$3,833
1979	4	4	$11,765	$2,941
1978	1	0	$0	—

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 riskVery Lowscore 21.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$6.5MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$4,427,333
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$577,927
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$352,677
Earthquake	Very Low	$298,146
Tornado	Very Low	$250,402
Lightning	Relatively Low	$208,585
Cold wave	Very Low	$126,274
Heat wave	Very Low	$60,985
Drought	Relatively Low	$46,888
Hail	Very Low	$42,773
Wildfire	Very Low	$30,023
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$29,616
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$29,065
Landslide	Relatively Low	$3,231
Avalanche	Very Low	$955

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 miles24

Tracks within 50 miles5

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Zeta	2020	53 mi	52 mph
Isabel	2003	68 mi	58 mph
Fran	1996	65 mi	46 mph
David	1979	19 mi	46 mph
Diane	1955	23 mi	58 mph
Able	1952	44 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	85 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	68 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	81 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	78 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	90 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	60 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	94 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	47 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	90 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	63 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	62 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	94 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	94 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	92 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	44 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1883	82 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1882	80 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	86 mi	58 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

24521 33
24572 10

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 Amherst County, VA?

NCEI records 70 hail events in Amherst County since 1950, in 27 different years; that is about 0.9 recorded events a year. 8 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Amherst County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 4 tornadoes in Amherst County since 1950, 1 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Amherst County?

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

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

53 NFIP claims since 1978, 41 of them paid, for $756K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Amherst County compare with the rest of Virginia?

99.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 146.4 statewide, and 1.7 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.