States › Virginia › Culpeper County

Culpeper 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 51047 · 53,596 residents (2021) · 379 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 52Tornado · 10Flood · 156Wind · 279Winter · 144

Culpeper 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 881 storm events in Culpeper County, Virginia, led by damaging wind.

That is 232.3 events per 100 square miles, above the Virginia figure of 146.4, and 164.4 per 10,000 residents against 66.9 statewide.

17 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 5 deaths and 16 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $11M and crop damage at $6.7M.

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 43 claims since 1978, of which 31 were paid, totalling $722K (about $23K per paid claim). FEMA counts 40 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" ($15M a year across 18 hazards).

30 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 1 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

17events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

881events since 19505 deaths, 16 injuries recorded

23disaster declarationslast 23 Jan 2026

43NFIP flood claims$722K paid

Compared with Virginia and the United States

Measure	Culpeper County	Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	881	57,789	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	232.3	146.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	164.4	66.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	17	1,941	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	5	239	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$11M	$2.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.8	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$23K	$19K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	25.0	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

Wind: 4

Wind: 3

Tornado: 1Wind: 4

Hail: 13Flood: 12Wind: 33Winter: 18Heat: 8Cold: 1Drought: 8Lightning: 2Other: 4

Hail: 18Tornado: 8Flood: 21Wind: 54Winter: 39Tropical: 1Heat: 19Cold: 16Drought: 3Lightning: 2Fog: 24Other: 13

Hail: 19Flood: 83Wind: 120Winter: 58Heat: 24Cold: 25Fog: 57

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Flood: 40Wind: 60Winter: 29Heat: 4Cold: 10Fog: 19

11950s41960s31970s51980s991990s2182000s3862010s1652020s

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

Trend: 637 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 226 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

Wind279

Flood156

Winter144

Fog100

Heat55

Hail52

Cold52

Other17

Drought11

Tornado10

Lightning4

Tropical1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	279	—	1.2%	detail
■ Flood	156	4	1.9%	detail
■ Winter	144	—	1.4%	detail
■ Fog	100	—	5.8%
■ Heat	55	—	4.1%
■ Hail	52	—	0.8%	detail
■ Cold	52	—	2.9%
■ Other	17	—	0.6%
■ Drought	11	—	1.3%
■ Tornado	10	—	1.1%	detail
■ Lightning	4	1	0.7%
■ Tropical	1	—	0.3%

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
19 Jan 1996	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	4	—	Forecast zone
4 Apr 1999	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
13 Oct 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	6	County
26 May 2024	Tornado	Tornado	EF0	$250K	—	—	5	County
24 Sep 2001	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$2.0M	—	—	2	County
18 Sep 2003	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$1.2M	$200K	—	2	Forecast zone
21 Mar 2003	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
1 Aug 1999	Drought	Drought	—	—	$5.2M	—	—	Forecast zone
14 Feb 2003	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$2.1M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
6 Sep 1996	Flood	Flood	—	$350K	$600K	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Sep 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$850K	—	—	—	County
6 Sep 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$240K	$200K	—	—	County
6 Sep 1996	High Wind	Wind	—	$5K	$400K	—	—	Forecast zone
22 Jun 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	75 mph	$250K	—	—	—	County
6 Jun 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	$250K	—	—	—	County
17 Sep 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$150K	—	—	—	County
25 May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$100K	—	—	—	County
22 Jun 2018	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
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
26 Nov 2012	DR-4092	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	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, Public 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
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

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 Culpeper County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197843

Paid claims31

Total paid$722K

Average paid claim$23K

Repetitive-loss properties31 severe

Residential policies in force400.2% of 17,684 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2022	1	0	$0	—
2021	2	2	$27,204	$13,602
2020	4	3	$144,618	$48,206
2018	3	3	$72,228	$24,076
2014	1	1	$890	$890
2013	3	3	$88,792	$29,597
2012	1	0	$0	—
2011	4	4	$173,002	$43,251
2009	1	1	$2,516	$2,516
2002	1	0	$0	—
1996	6	4	$40,656	$10,164
1995	2	2	$117,553	$58,777
1989	2	2	$22,512	$11,256
1987	3	2	$24,352	$12,176
1985	4	2	$5,417	$2,709
1984	1	1	$1,609	$1,609
1979	3	1	$547	$547
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 riskRelatively Lowscore 46.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$15MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$9,822,461
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$1,009,154
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$741,519
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$656,819
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$622,229
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$597,844
Tornado	Relatively Low	$560,605
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$548,077
Hail	Relatively Low	$209,619
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$47,662
Cold wave	Very Low	$43,658
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$32,374
Wildfire	Very Low	$20,070
Landslide	Very Low	$743

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 miles30

Tracks within 50 miles12

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Isaias	2020	83 mi	69 mph
Zeta	2020	49 mi	52 mph
Hanna	2008	83 mi	52 mph
Ernesto	2006	71 mi	46 mph
Isabel	2003	52 mi	58 mph
David	1979	57 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1963	97 mi	46 mph
Connie	1955	84 mi	58 mph
Diane	1955	23 mi	52 mph
Able	1952	44 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	15 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	53 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	56 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	73 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	49 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	43 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	53 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	90 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	42 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	20 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	61 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	54 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	76 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	14 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	17 mi	75 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

22701 30
22733 9

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 Culpeper County, VA?

NCEI records 52 hail events in Culpeper County since 1950, in 20 different years; that is about 0.7 recorded events a year. 11 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Culpeper County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 10 tornadoes in Culpeper County since 1950, 2 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Culpeper 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 Culpeper County, and how much was paid?

43 NFIP claims since 1978, 31 of them paid, for $722K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Culpeper 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 Culpeper County compare with the rest of Virginia?

232.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 146.4 statewide, and 0.8 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.