States › Virginia › Halifax County

Halifax 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 51083 · 33,738 residents (2021) · 818 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 134Tornado · 17Flood · 175Wind · 490Winter · 43

Halifax 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 930 storm events in Halifax County, Virginia, led by damaging wind.

That is 113.7 events per 100 square miles, below the Virginia figure of 146.4, and 275.7 per 10,000 residents against 66.9 statewide.

24 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 5 deaths and 28 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $25M and crop damage at $16M.

FEMA has designated the county in 27 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 186 claims since 1978, of which 159 were paid, totalling $2.3M (about $15K per paid claim). FEMA counts 13 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 "Very Low" ($8.9M a year across 18 hazards).

41 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.

24events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

930events since 19505 deaths, 28 injuries recorded

27disaster declarationslast 23 Jan 2026

186NFIP flood claims$2.3M paid

Compared with Virginia and the United States

Measure	Halifax County	Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	930	57,789	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	113.7	146.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	275.7	66.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	24	1,941	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	5	239	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$25M	$2.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	5.5	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$15K	$19K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	69.2	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

Hail: 2Tornado: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 2Tornado: 2Wind: 2

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Wind: 13

Hail: 20Tornado: 2Flood: 37Wind: 42Winter: 7Cold: 2Drought: 6Lightning: 2

Hail: 60Tornado: 3Flood: 58Wind: 111Winter: 14Tropical: 1Cold: 4Drought: 9Lightning: 2Other: 1

Hail: 37Tornado: 5Flood: 48Wind: 192Winter: 14Tropical: 1Heat: 1Drought: 1Lightning: 11Other: 6

Hail: 11Tornado: 2Flood: 32Wind: 127Winter: 8Tropical: 1Drought: 9Lightning: 2Other: 12

51950s61960s51970s131980s1181990s2632000s3162010s2042020s

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

Trend: 627 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 260 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

Wind490

Flood175

Hail134

Winter43

Drought25

Other19

Tornado17

Lightning17

Cold6

Tropical3

Heat1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	490	1	2.1%	detail
■ Flood	175	—	2.1%	detail
■ Hail	134	—	2.2%	detail
■ Winter	43	2	0.4%	detail
■ Drought	25	—	2.9%
■ Other	19	—	0.7%
■ Tornado	17	2	1.9%	detail
■ Lightning	17	—	3.2%
■ Cold	6	—	0.3%
■ Tropical	3	—	1.0%
■ Heat	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
27 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	—	—	1	7	County
24 Mar 1969	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25K	—	1	4	County
12 Feb 2014	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$40K	—	1	1	Forecast zone
15 Sep 1999	High Wind	Wind	—	$25K	—	1	1	Forecast zone
7 Feb 2022	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
16 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$700K	—	—	4	County
4 Jul 2004	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	4	County
1 May 2012	Lightning	Lightning	—	$500	—	—	2	County
29 Jun 2012	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	2	Forecast zone
18 Oct 1990	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
3 Sep 1996	Flood	Flood	—	$6.0M	$4.2M	—	—	Forecast zone
10 Feb 2010	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$12K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
18 Jun 2019	Lightning	Lightning	—	$300	—	—	1	County
1 Sep 2007	Drought	Drought	—	—	$10M	—	—	Forecast zone
6 Sep 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$7.0M	$1.0M	—	—	County
11 Oct 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.6M	—	—	—	County
5 Sep 1996	High Wind	Wind	—	$700K	$30K	—	—	Forecast zone
28 Apr 2008	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$500K	—	—	—	County
24 Apr 2017	Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
2 Nov 2018	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$500K	—	—	—	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
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
18 Dec 2018	DR-4411	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Michael	Public assistance
15 Oct 2018	DR-4401	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	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
9 Dec 2009	DR-1862	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Ida And A Nor'East	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
27 Mar 2003	DR-1458	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snowfall, Heavy Rain,Floodind, And Mudslide	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
18 Sep 1999	DR-1293	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	Individual 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
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
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
25 Mar 1993	EM-3112	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
15 Oct 1976	EM-3018	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
23 Jun 1972	DR-339	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Agnes	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 Halifax County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978186

Paid claims159

Total paid$2.3M

Average paid claim$15K

Repetitive-loss properties222 severe

Residential policies in force130.1% of 14,821 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2020	1	1	$500,000	$500,000
2018	5	5	$651,827	$130,365
2017	3	3	$65,706	$21,902
2013	1	1	$1,378	$1,378
2009	2	1	$3,162	$3,162
2008	1	0	$0	—
2007	1	1	$8,173	$8,173
2006	2	2	$10,179	$5,090
2003	4	4	$52,595	$13,149
2002	1	0	$0	—
2001	1	1	$1,120	$1,120
1998	2	2	$717	$359
1997	2	2	$904	$452
1996	14	12	$221,560	$18,463
1995	11	10	$235,003	$23,500
1994	4	4	$9,140	$2,285
1993	5	5	$3,525	$705
1992	1	1	$230	$230
1991	3	2	$2,822	$1,411
1990	4	4	$4,242	$1,060
1989	1	1	$340	$340
1987	38	29	$156,863	$5,409
1985	1	1	$4,026	$4,026
1984	1	1	$527	$527
1982	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 47.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$8.9MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$4,536,472
Drought	Relatively High	$1,184,532
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$953,330
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$623,521
Tornado	Relatively Low	$391,528
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$353,454
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$327,821
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$205,322
Hail	Relatively Low	$157,074
Cold wave	Very Low	$90,349
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$63,198
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$49,817
Wildfire	Very Low	$6,647
Landslide	Very Low	$725

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 miles41

Tracks within 50 miles8

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ophelia	2023	86 mi	46 mph
Elsa	2021	85 mi	52 mph
Zeta	2020	82 mi	52 mph
Michael	2018	71 mi	58 mph
Hanna	2008	87 mi	52 mph
Ernesto	2006	97 mi	46 mph
Isabel	2003	69 mi	75 mph
Fran	1996	6 mi	46 mph
David	1979	65 mi	46 mph
Alma	1970	75 mi	40 mph
Cindy	1959	83 mi	40 mph
Diane	1955	23 mi	58 mph
Hazel	1954	64 mi	92 mph
Able	1952	54 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	96 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	24 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	53 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	94 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1935	70 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	52 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	51 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	91 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	35 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1904	77 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	52 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

24592 178

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 Halifax County, VA?

NCEI records 134 hail events in Halifax County since 1950, in 35 different years; that is about 1.7 recorded events a year. 30 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Halifax County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 17 tornadoes in Halifax County since 1950, 6 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 2.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Halifax County?

23 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 27 declarations since 1953.

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

186 NFIP claims since 1978, 159 of them paid, for $2.3M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Halifax 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, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Halifax County compare with the rest of Virginia?

113.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 146.4 statewide, and 5.5 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.