States › Virginia › Scott County

Scott 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 51169 · 21,419 residents (2021) · 536 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 25Tornado · 4Flood · 37Wind · 169Winter · 83

Scott 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.

The NCEI record lists 318 events for Scott County, Virginia, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 59.3 events per 100 square miles, below the Virginia figure of 146.4, and 148.5 per 10,000 residents against 66.9 statewide.

9 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 0 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $1.2M and crop damage at $282K.

FEMA has designated the county in 20 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 36 claims since 1978, of which 29 were paid, totalling $395K (about $14K per paid claim). FEMA counts 51 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" ($8.4M a year across 18 hazards).

4 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.

9events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

318events since 19502 deaths, 0 injuries recorded

20disaster declarationslast 23 Jan 2026

36NFIP flood claims$395K paid

Compared with Virginia and the United States

Measure	Scott County	Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	318	57,789	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	59.3	146.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	148.5	66.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	9	1,941	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	239	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$1.2M	$2.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.7	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$14K	$19K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	9.8	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: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 3Wind: 4

Hail: 4Tornado: 1Flood: 7Wind: 19Winter: 10

Hail: 9Tornado: 2Flood: 13Wind: 69Winter: 27

Hail: 6Flood: 12Wind: 54Winter: 29

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Flood: 5Wind: 21Winter: 17

01950s01960s31970s71980s411990s1202000s1012010s462020s

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

Trend: 181 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 122 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

Wind169

Winter83

Flood37

Hail25

Tornado4

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	169	—	0.7%	detail
■ Winter	83	—	0.8%	detail
■ Flood	37	2	0.5%	detail
■ Hail	25	—	0.4%	detail
■ Tornado	4	—	0.4%

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
29 Jul 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
17 Aug 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
14 Feb 2003	Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
16 Feb 2003	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
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
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
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
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
2 Apr 2002	DR-1406	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 Nov 2001	FM-2390	Fire management assistance	Fire	Va - Far Southwest Fire Complex - 11/16/2001	Public assistance
12 Jul 2001	DR-1386	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Feb 2000	DR-1318	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
13 Jan 1996	DR-1086	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96 (Severe Snow 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
7 Apr 1977	DR-530	Major disaster	Flood	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 Scott County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197836

Paid claims29

Total paid$395K

Average paid claim$14K

Repetitive-loss properties10 severe

Residential policies in force510.5% of 11,154 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$13,365	$13,365
2024	1	1	$2,742	$2,742
2020	2	1	$1,125	$1,125
2019	1	0	$0	—
2015	2	2	$9,438	$4,719
2013	1	1	$2,989	$2,989
2010	1	1	$5,327	$5,327
2003	5	5	$171,109	$34,222
2002	9	8	$148,351	$18,544
2001	1	1	$33,902	$33,902
1994	1	1	$209	$209
1991	1	1	$605	$605
1984	3	2	$1,193	$596
1979	2	1	$787	$787
1978	5	3	$3,575	$1,192

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 42.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$8.4MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$6,821,302
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$375,398
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$364,778
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$211,186
Tornado	Very Low	$147,171
Lightning	Relatively Low	$125,795
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$123,733
Drought	Relatively Low	$71,457
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$38,938
Wildfire	Very Low	$33,874
Hail	Very Low	$28,376
Hurricane	Very Low	$16,286
Ice storm	Very Low	$6,343
Heat wave	Very Low	$2,690
Avalanche	Very Low	$1,470

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 miles4

Tracks within 50 miles1

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Hugo	1989	76 mi	63 mph
Gracie	1959	75 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	65 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	23 mi	40 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

24251 13
24244 11
24258 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 Scott County, VA?

NCEI records 25 hail events in Scott County since 1950, in 14 different years; that is about 0.3 recorded events a year. 5 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Scott County had a tornado?

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

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Scott County?

23 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 20 declarations since 1953.

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

36 NFIP claims since 1978, 29 of them paid, for $395K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

How does Scott County compare with the rest of Virginia?

59.3 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.