States › Virginia › Bedford County

Bedford 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 51019 · 80,131 residents (2021) · 760 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 183Tornado · 12Flood · 81Wind · 412Winter · 65

Bedford 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 826 storm events in Bedford County, Virginia, led by damaging wind.

That is 108.7 events per 100 square miles, below the Virginia figure of 146.4, and 103.1 per 10,000 residents against 66.9 statewide.

48 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 5 deaths and 27 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $13M and crop damage at $14M.

FEMA has designated the county in 28 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 26 claims since 1978, of which 18 were paid, totalling $216K (about $12K per paid claim). FEMA counts 109 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" ($18M a year across 18 hazards).

22 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.

48events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

826events since 19505 deaths, 27 injuries recorded

28disaster declarationslast 23 Jan 2026

26NFIP flood claims$216K paid

Compared with Virginia and the United States

Measure	Bedford County	Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	826	57,789	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	108.7	146.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	103.1	66.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	48	1,941	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	5	239	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$13M	$2.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.3	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$12K	$19K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	9.2	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: 2

Hail: 1Wind: 5

Hail: 4Wind: 4

Hail: 26Tornado: 3Flood: 13Wind: 23Winter: 9Cold: 2Drought: 4Lightning: 1

Hail: 59Tornado: 3Flood: 18Wind: 102Winter: 19Cold: 4Drought: 3Lightning: 2

Hail: 72Tornado: 4Flood: 34Wind: 179Winter: 26Heat: 1Cold: 3Drought: 1Lightning: 9Other: 9

Hail: 21Tornado: 2Flood: 16Wind: 97Winter: 11Tropical: 1Cold: 1Drought: 9Wildfire: 1Lightning: 10Other: 12

01950s21960s61970s81980s811990s2102000s3382010s1812020s

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

Trend: 597 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 190 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

Wind412

Hail183

Flood81

Winter65

Lightning22

Other21

Drought17

Tornado12

Cold10

Tropical1

Heat1

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	412	1	1.8%	detail
■ Hail	183	—	3.0%	detail
■ Flood	81	—	1.0%	detail
■ Winter	65	2	0.6%	detail
■ Lightning	22	1	4.1%
■ Other	21	—	0.8%
■ Drought	17	—	2.0%
■ Tornado	12	—	1.3%	detail
■ Cold	10	—	0.6%
■ Tropical	1	—	0.3%
■ Heat	1	1	0.1%
■ Wildfire	1	—	2.3%

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
12 Jun 2026	Strong Wind	Wind	49 mph	$15K	—	1	22	Forecast zone
2 Feb 1996	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
1 Jul 2012	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
20 Jan 2016	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
14 Jul 2016	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
27 May 2022	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$925K	—	—	3	County
28 Apr 2002	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$3.0M	—	—	1	County
8 Jun 2022	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
1 Oct 2019	Drought	Drought	—	—	$9.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Sep 2007	Drought	Drought	—	—	$4.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
22 Sep 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$2.0M	—	—	—	County
28 Apr 2002	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$1.2M	—	—	—	County
9 Apr 2007	Frost/Freeze	Cold	—	—	$868K	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Jun 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	66 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
6 Sep 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$300K	$100K	—	—	County
1 Oct 1998	Drought	Drought	—	—	$400K	—	—	Forecast zone
10 Jan 2001	High Wind	Wind	—	$400K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
22 Sep 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$400K	—	—	—	County
6 Sep 1996	High Wind	Wind	—	$150K	$50K	—	—	Forecast zone
15 Apr 2018	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$200K	—	—	—	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
4 Apr 2025	DR-4863	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
1 Oct 2024	DR-4831	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Helene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Sep 2024	EM-3621	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Post-Tropical Cyclone Helene	Public assistance
10 May 2021	DR-4602	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	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
5 May 2002	DR-1411	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual 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	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	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 Bedford County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197826

Paid claims18

Total paid$216K

Average paid claim$12K

Repetitive-loss properties42 severe

Residential policies in force1090.3% of 35,950 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2020	7	4	$69,417	$17,354
2019	2	1	$14,269	$14,269
2018	1	1	$2,274	$2,274
2016	1	1	$20,000	$20,000
2011	2	1	$8,130	$8,130
2010	1	1	$5,244	$5,244
2009	1	1	$26,708	$26,708
2005	2	2	$11,888	$5,944
2004	1	0	$0	—
2003	1	1	$17,439	$17,439
1995	1	0	$0	—
1992	2	1	$1,098	$1,098
1985	3	3	$38,331	$12,777
1978	1	1	$1,397	$1,397

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 51.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$18MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$12,922,324
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$826,821
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$795,525
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$582,635
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$554,409
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$512,311
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$484,186
Tornado	Very Low	$388,699
Heat wave	Very Low	$153,429
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$141,229
Hail	Very Low	$108,503
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$89,272
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$67,354
Landslide	Relatively Low	$3,396
Avalanche	Very Low	$1,296

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 miles22

Tracks within 50 miles3

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Zeta	2020	80 mi	52 mph
Isabel	2003	95 mi	58 mph
Fran	1996	51 mi	46 mph
David	1979	20 mi	46 mph
Diane	1955	52 mi	58 mph
Able	1952	53 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	87 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	67 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	89 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	84 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	94 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	73 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	22 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	94 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	83 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	36 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	99 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	71 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	62 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1883	92 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1882	80 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	58 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

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 Bedford County, VA?

NCEI records 183 hail events in Bedford County since 1950, in 35 different years; that is about 2.4 recorded events a year. 17 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Bedford County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 12 tornadoes in Bedford County since 1950, 4 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Bedford County?

23 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 28 declarations since 1953.

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

26 NFIP claims since 1978, 18 of them paid, for $216K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Bedford 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 Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Bedford County compare with the rest of Virginia?

108.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 146.4 statewide, and 0.3 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.