States › Virginia › Henry County

Henry 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 51089 · 50,248 residents (2021) · 382 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 130Tornado · 7Flood · 77Wind · 450Winter · 47

Henry 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 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 767 events for Henry County, Virginia, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 200.6 events per 100 square miles, above the Virginia figure of 146.4, and 152.6 per 10,000 residents against 66.9 statewide.

28 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 6 deaths and 33 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $126M and crop damage at $11M.

FEMA has designated the county in 16 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 148 claims since 1978, of which 121 were paid, totalling $2.5M (about $21K per paid claim). FEMA counts 44 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).

23 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.

28events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

767events since 19506 deaths, 33 injuries recorded

16disaster declarationslast 23 Jan 2026

148NFIP flood claims$2.5M paid

Compared with Virginia and the United States

Measure	Henry County	Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	767	57,789	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	200.6	146.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	152.6	66.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	28	1,941	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	6	239	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$126M	$2.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.9	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$21K	$19K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	38.6	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: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Wind: 3

Hail: 4Wind: 4

Hail: 19Tornado: 3Flood: 10Wind: 32Winter: 9Cold: 2Drought: 4Lightning: 4

Hail: 50Tornado: 2Flood: 26Wind: 75Winter: 11Cold: 5Drought: 10Lightning: 3

Hail: 42Tornado: 1Flood: 24Wind: 141Winter: 20Heat: 1Cold: 1Lightning: 6Other: 1

Hail: 11Flood: 17Wind: 193Winter: 7Tropical: 1Drought: 6Lightning: 3Other: 9

31950s41960s31970s81980s831990s1822000s2372010s2472020s

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

Trend: 590 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 154 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

Wind450

Hail130

Flood77

Winter47

Drought20

Lightning16

Other10

Cold8

Tornado7

Tropical1

Heat1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	450	—	2.0%	detail
■ Hail	130	—	2.1%	detail
■ Flood	77	2	0.9%	detail
■ Winter	47	3	0.5%	detail
■ Drought	20	—	2.4%
■ Lightning	16	1	3.0%
■ Other	10	—	0.4%
■ Cold	8	—	0.4%
■ Tornado	7	—	0.8%
■ Tropical	1	—	0.3%
■ 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
16 Jun 2004	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	2	—	County
16 Jul 1997	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
22 Jan 2014	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
22 Jan 2016	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
17 Jan 2018	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
17 Aug 1994	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$50M	—	—	10	County
17 Sep 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$54M	—	—	4	County
14 Sep 2013	Dust Devil	Other	—	$1K	—	—	6	County
1 Jul 2012	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	6	Forecast zone
12 Jul 1964	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	3	County
8 Nov 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$400K	—	—	1	County
8 Nov 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$250K	—	—	1	County
10 Feb 2008	High Wind	Wind	60 mph	$50K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
1 Sep 2007	Drought	Drought	—	—	$10M	—	—	Forecast zone
11 Sep 2019	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
18 May 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$9.2M	—	—	—	County
30 Sep 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	County
5 Apr 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$1.8M	—	—	—	County
24 May 2020	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.2M	—	—	—	County
6 Sep 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$700K	—	—	—	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
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
13 Jul 2006	DR-1655	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
12 Sep 2005	EM-3240	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	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
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
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
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

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

Claims since 1978148

Paid claims121

Total paid$2.5M

Average paid claim$21K

Repetitive-loss properties201 severe

Residential policies in force440.2% of 22,806 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	1	1	$5,132	$5,132
2020	10	9	$880,547	$97,839
2018	6	4	$135,744	$33,936
2015	3	2	$10,632	$5,316
2013	1	1	$13,172	$13,172
2012	1	1	$27,511	$27,511
2010	10	10	$239,036	$23,904
2008	1	1	$2,005	$2,005
2007	1	0	$0	—
2006	4	4	$55,902	$13,976
2004	2	1	$191	$191
2003	7	2	$3,550	$1,775
2000	2	2	$15,346	$7,673
1999	1	1	$22,632	$22,632
1996	17	16	$187,756	$11,735
1995	2	1	$715	$715
1994	1	1	$3,426	$3,426
1992	3	3	$3,729	$1,243
1990	5	3	$3,677	$1,226
1989	6	6	$18,463	$3,077
1988	5	4	$14,502	$3,626
1987	37	30	$648,837	$21,628
1985	11	10	$182,967	$18,297
1979	9	7	$14,490	$2,070
1978	2	1	$881	$881

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 63.6 of 100

Expected annual loss$15MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$11,076,460
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$932,823
Tornado	Relatively Low	$650,175
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$558,629
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$533,561
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$458,880
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$294,122
Lightning	Relatively Low	$192,741
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$184,202
Hail	Relatively Low	$165,201
Heat wave	Very Low	$130,967
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$47,283
Landslide	Relatively Low	$24,242
Wildfire	Very Low	$5,816
Avalanche	Very Low	$3

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 miles23

Tracks within 50 miles8

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	95 mi	52 mph
Michael	2018	71 mi	52 mph
Fran	1996	55 mi	46 mph
David	1979	30 mi	46 mph
Alma	1970	96 mi	40 mph
Gracie	1959	100 mi	40 mph
Diane	1955	72 mi	58 mph
Able	1952	5 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	38 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	80 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	37 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1907	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	33 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	98 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	77 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	24 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1889	69 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	82 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	44 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	62 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1882	93 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	13 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1859	71 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

24055 57
24089 54
24112 44
24115 10
24148 10
24078 7
24165 6

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 Henry County, VA?

NCEI records 130 hail events in Henry County since 1950, in 33 different years; that is about 1.7 recorded events a year. 18 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Henry County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 7 tornadoes in Henry County since 1950, 3 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Henry County?

23 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 16 declarations since 1953.

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

148 NFIP claims since 1978, 121 of them paid, for $2.5M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

How does Henry County compare with the rest of Virginia?

200.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 146.4 statewide, and 2.9 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 29 Sep 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 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.