States › Virginia

Virginia

The recorded hazard history of every county in Virginia: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Virginia has 57,789 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 133 counties, led by damaging wind: 146.4 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 239 deaths and 1,843 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $2.7B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Falls Church city, Arlington and Lexington city.

FEMA lists 77 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Winter Storm (23 Jan 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 50,609 flood claims since 1978, $772M paid; 72,514 residential policies are in force.

1,941events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

57,789events since 1950146.4 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

77disaster declarations since 1953last 23 Jan 2026

50,609NFIP flood claims$772M paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	57,789	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	146.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	66.9	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	239	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$2.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$19K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	72,514	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind22,882

Winter10,408

Flood8,165

Hail6,183

Other2,660

Cold1,789

Fog1,713

Heat1,339

Tornado913

Drought850

Lightning536

Tropical308

Wildfire43

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	22,882	3.3%	56
■ Winter	10,408	3.6%	31
■ Flood	8,165	4.4%	64
■ Hail	6,183	1.5%	1
■ Other	2,660	5.8%	—
■ Cold	1,789	3.3%	3
■ Fog	1,713	9.3%	4
■ Heat	1,339	2.4%	10
■ Tornado	913	1.1%	39
■ Drought	850	1.0%	—
■ Lightning	536	3.0%	19
■ Tropical	308	2.8%	12
■ Wildfire	43	0.5%	—

Events by decade

Hail: 27Tornado: 41Wind: 58

Hail: 74Tornado: 41Wind: 148

Hail: 69Tornado: 87Wind: 283

Hail: 144Tornado: 64Wind: 641

Hail: 1080Tornado: 126Flood: 754Wind: 2287Winter: 1155Tropical: 57Heat: 232Cold: 127Drought: 418Wildfire: 13Lightning: 121Fog: 2Other: 193

Hail: 2276Tornado: 272Flood: 1627Wind: 5184Winter: 2975Tropical: 103Heat: 382Cold: 495Drought: 244Wildfire: 17Lightning: 193Fog: 317Other: 563

Hail: 1885Tornado: 210Flood: 3081Wind: 8330Winter: 4290Tropical: 88Heat: 512Cold: 800Drought: 12Wildfire: 9Lightning: 135Fog: 1037Other: 1000

Hail: 628Tornado: 72Flood: 2703Wind: 5951Winter: 1988Tropical: 60Heat: 213Cold: 367Drought: 176Wildfire: 4Lightning: 87Fog: 357Other: 904

1261950s2631960s4391970s8491980s6,5651990s14,6482000s21,3892010s13,5102020s

Recorded events in Virginia by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Falls Church city	53	0	2,590.4	36.6	Wind	1	8	16	74	Very Low
Arlington County	575	13	2,211.8	24.7	Wind	4	18	21	215	Relatively Low
Lexington city	30	0	1,200.5	40.2	Wind	0	5	14	34	Very Low
Alexandria city	169	10	1,131.6	10.9	Wind	2	8	22	404	Relatively Low
Colonial Heights city	83	9	1,103.9	45.4	Wind	1	11	15	79	Very Low
Martinsville city	108	1	985.8	79.9	Wind	0	18	13	0	Very Low
Williamsburg city	85	0	951.0	54.5	Wind	0	8	16	18	Very Low
Fredericksburg city	99	3	947.4	34.9	Wind	2	19	19	44	Very Low
Fairfax city	59	2	945.5	24.3	Wind	0	10	17	53	Very Low
Franklin city	75	0	906.1	91.3	Wind	1	13	14	106	Very Low
Galax city	74	3	898.5	111.1	Flood	0	24	16	2	Very Low
Emporia city	60	0	869.1	105.9	Wind	3	5	15	18	Very Low
Winchester city	78	0	848.5	27.7	Wind	0	11	14	17	Very Low
Manassas city	80	1	812.8	18.7	Wind	1	18	15	25	Very Low
Norfolk city	424	31	795.9	18.0	Wind	12	41	18	6,019	Relatively Moderate
Charlottesville city	80	2	780.9	17.5	Wind	1	10	13	44	Very Low
Hopewell city	78	6	753.3	33.7	Wind	2	15	16	18	Very Low
Salem city	79	2	544.3	31.1	Wind	1	22	14	812	Very Low
Radford city	52	1	537.4	31.5	Wind	0	15	17	6	Very Low
Norton city	39	0	521.6	106.4	Wind	1	6	15	46	Very Low
Newport News city	349	24	505.9	18.9	Wind	7	26	21	1,065	Relatively Low
Petersburg city	114	22	501.8	34.1	Wind	4	5	17	129	Very Low
Bristol city	63	1	489.5	36.9	Wind	1	14	13	24	Very Low
Portsmouth city	157	3	471.5	16.0	Wind	4	25	18	1,748	Relatively Low
Manassas Park city	14	0	461.4	8.2	Other	1	4	14	5	Very Low
Covington city	25	0	457.1	43.7	Wind	0	3	15	206	Very Low
Roanoke city	179	10	421.0	18.1	Flood	1	39	19	1,184	Relatively Low
Buena Vista city	27	0	419.4	40.9	Wind	0	5	20	276	Very Low
Richmond city	246	41	410.5	10.9	Wind	14	25	20	547	Relatively Low
Greene County	611	16	391.8	291.4	Winter	5	19	26	28	Very Low
Clarke County	681	15	387.0	457.6	Wind	11	43	20	34	Very Low
Fairfax County	1,497	47	382.8	13.1	Wind	22	182	19	1,488	Relatively High
Hampton city	196	11	380.9	14.2	Wind	7	27	21	5,774	Relatively Low
Danville city	159	1	371.5	37.7	Wind	3	20	18	164	Relatively Low
Lynchburg city	179	6	365.5	22.7	Wind	1	29	17	151	Relatively Low
Harrisonburg city	61	1	351.8	11.9	Wind	0	6	14	55	Very Low
Waynesboro city	52	0	347.4	23.1	Wind	1	6	15	367	Very Low
Prince William County	1,094	28	326.3	22.6	Wind	15	86	20	485	Relatively Moderate
Warren County	696	18	324.4	170.1	Winter	3	33	23	370	Very Low
York County	326	13	311.3	46.0	Wind	8	27	19	1,569	Relatively Low
Stafford County	816	14	303.1	50.7	Wind	15	74	20	164	Relatively Low
King George County	543	15	302.3	197.5	Wind	8	32	27	16	Very Low
Staunton city	60	1	301.2	23.4	Wind	0	9	14	57	Very Low
Loudoun County	1,412	21	273.8	33.0	Wind	28	170	16	168	Relatively Low
Henrico County	615	42	263.2	18.4	Wind	11	105	22	357	Relatively Moderate
Mathews County	220	5	256.1	257.4	Winter	7	8	20	1,162	Very Low
Orange County	857	19	251.3	230.5	Wind	14	53	22	20	Very Low
Virginia Beach city	585	40	239.0	12.8	Wind	15	72	18	6,260	Relatively Low
Page County	732	21	236.1	307.5	Winter	3	42	24	188	Very Low
Rappahannock County	625	15	234.6	843.8	Wind	4	28	25	9	Very Low
Culpeper County	881	17	232.3	164.4	Wind	10	52	23	43	Relatively Low
James City County	330	9	231.9	41.3	Wind	9	20	18	370	Relatively Low
Madison County	713	17	222.4	511.4	Wind	9	24	24	19	Very Low
Lancaster County	291	9	218.3	266.3	Wind	10	15	25	396	Very Low
Frederick County	883	15	213.7	94.2	Wind	10	81	19	57	Relatively Low
Middlesex County	277	8	212.5	256.9	Wind	11	18	24	234	Very Low
Henry County	767	28	200.6	152.6	Wind	7	130	16	148	Relatively Low
Spotsylvania County	757	21	188.6	52.7	Wind	12	76	19	54	Relatively Low
Roanoke County	461	7	184.0	47.7	Wind	3	138	23	583	Relatively Low
Shenandoah County	917	24	180.5	204.9	Wind	5	48	24	205	Relatively Low
Montgomery County	663	8	171.4	67.3	Wind	5	164	24	181	Relatively Low
Northumberland County	318	18	166.1	264.4	Wind	11	13	25	385	Very Low
Chesterfield County	690	50	162.9	18.6	Wind	17	115	25	268	Relatively Moderate
Albemarle County	1,165	31	161.7	102.6	Wind	11	82	25	123	Relatively Low
Prince George County	421	27	158.7	98.2	Wind	9	41	19	36	Very Low
Fauquier County	972	38	150.0	131.7	Wind	28	87	21	33	Relatively Low
Nelson County	700	19	148.7	473.3	Wind	3	46	28	31	Very Low
Pulaski County	472	10	147.6	139.8	Wind	4	97	22	99	Relatively Low
Campbell County	735	13	146.1	132.5	Wind	11	126	24	30	Very Low
Westmoreland County	332	15	144.8	177.2	Wind	7	27	25	230	Very Low
Gloucester County	313	4	143.7	80.1	Wind	17	33	18	1,378	Very Low
Richmond County	271	12	141.5	300.5	Wind	10	32	24	56	Very Low
New Kent County	279	14	132.8	116.8	Wind	6	17	22	36	Very Low
Chesapeake city	429	15	126.8	17.1	Wind	13	74	18	2,634	Relatively Low
Goochland County	355	20	125.9	139.3	Wind	10	29	21	18	Very Low
Northampton County	262	11	123.8	216.8	Wind	8	22	22	98	Relatively Low
Isle of Wight County	383	18	121.3	97.5	Wind	16	34	20	183	Very Low
Patrick County	583	6	120.7	331.2	Wind	4	125	19	45	Very Low
Carroll County	570	15	120.1	196.2	Wind	6	125	17	22	Relatively Low
Giles County	428	9	119.8	258.4	Wind	0	72	22	88	Very Low
Powhatan County	296	14	113.8	95.1	Wind	4	29	24	1	Very Low
Halifax County	930	24	113.7	275.7	Wind	17	134	27	186	Relatively Low
Appomattox County	377	21	112.8	230.5	Wind	3	38	26	9	Very Low
Charles City County	206	6	112.6	312.4	Winter	3	10	19	9	Very Low
Prince Edward County	391	11	111.7	178.3	Wind	2	35	22	40	Very Low
Dickenson County	367	21	111.1	266.2	Wind	2	43	21	118	Very Low
Franklin County	766	12	110.9	139.4	Wind	5	194	22	45	Very Low
Hanover County	513	21	109.7	46.0	Wind	17	63	22	39	Relatively Low
Tazewell County	567	11	109.3	142.0	Wind	0	99	25	481	Relatively Low
Nottoway County	342	15	108.8	219.3	Wind	13	33	22	1	Very Low
Bedford County	826	48	108.7	103.1	Wind	12	183	28	26	Relatively Low
Pittsylvania County	1,028	31	106.1	171.4	Wind	24	199	27	26	Relatively Low
Fluvanna County	304	11	105.9	109.7	Wind	10	22	23	23	Very Low
Grayson County	465	9	105.3	302.8	Wind	4	80	21	6	Very Low
Rockingham County	888	32	104.5	105.2	Wind	10	72	21	282	Relatively Low
Floyd County	384	11	100.8	246.7	Wind	2	73	22	19	Very Low
King William County	276	13	100.8	151.9	Wind	8	22	25	89	Very Low
Charlotte County	478	15	100.6	417.5	Wind	6	52	22	2	Very Low
Amherst County	469	17	99.0	150.0	Wind	4	70	23	53	Very Low
Essex County	253	8	98.3	239.3	Wind	3	23	27	241	Very Low
Suffolk city	388	10	97.2	40.3	Wind	22	45	19	234	Relatively Low
Smyth County	437	5	96.8	148.3	Wind	7	55	21	160	Relatively Low
Surry County	270	12	96.8	413.5	Wind	9	12	21	70	Very Low
Amelia County	339	18	95.4	255.5	Wind	11	31	22	7	Very Low
Augusta County	913	26	94.4	117.7	Wind	13	68	24	183	Relatively Low
Buckingham County	527	20	90.9	311.0	Wind	5	72	23	8	Very Low
Louisa County	448	16	90.5	115.3	Wind	15	50	25	4	Very Low
Cumberland County	268	3	90.1	276.8	Wind	2	25	23	11	Very Low
Botetourt County	481	13	88.9	142.0	Wind	3	79	24	239	Very Low
Wythe County	406	9	87.9	144.1	Wind	0	94	18	31	Relatively Low
Rockbridge County	514	8	86.2	227.0	Wind	3	65	23	313	Very Low
Wise County	347	10	86.0	97.3	Wind	3	31	19	348	Relatively Low
Caroline County	433	16	82.1	138.2	Wind	15	32	24	8	Very Low
Lee County	356	9	81.8	161.9	Wind	8	62	20	50	Relatively Low
Accomack County	361	21	80.3	108.6	Wind	9	26	20	1,114	Relatively Moderate
Poquoson city	12	3	78.1	9.5	Flood	0	1	18	4,290	Very Low
Buchanan County	366	18	72.8	184.7	Wind	0	35	27	360	Relatively Low
Mecklenburg County	447	14	71.5	147.8	Wind	11	50	20	8	Relatively Low
King and Queen County	225	2	71.4	337.7	Wind	8	16	25	22	Very Low
Alleghany County	316	9	70.8	210.9	Wind	0	39	25	213	Very Low
Craig County	226	5	68.9	464.5	Wind	1	22	26	94	Very Low
Sussex County	329	26	67.1	305.7	Wind	10	21	18	34	Very Low
Washington County	376	13	67.0	70.1	Wind	12	42	20	80	Relatively Low
Bland County	238	6	66.5	385.5	Wind	0	23	18	50	Very Low
Lunenburg County	287	13	66.5	240.7	Wind	5	27	23	0	Very Low
Greensville County	191	6	64.7	167.0	Wind	8	13	17	5	Very Low
Dinwiddie County	318	22	63.1	113.9	Wind	12	21	22	8	Very Low
Russell County	298	6	62.9	116.6	Wind	6	17	21	52	Very Low
Bath County	328	9	62.0	797.3	Wind	0	32	22	16	Very Low
Highland County	257	1	61.9	1,154.5	Winter	1	25	22	6	Very Low
Scott County	318	9	59.3	148.5	Wind	4	25	20	36	Very Low
Brunswick County	335	23	59.2	210.2	Wind	13	25	19	12	Very Low
Southampton County	355	16	59.2	197.2	Wind	18	46	13	91	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Salem city	71	135	52.6	812	$19M
Tazewell County	75	144	52.1	481	$7.6M
Buchanan County	54	119	45.4	360	$4.6M
Petersburg city	34	100	34.0	129	$2.3M
Roanoke County	83	265	31.3	583	$6.6M
Roanoke city	70	225	31.1	1,184	$20M
Smyth County	37	134	27.6	160	$1.2M
Washington County	32	122	26.2	80	$1.7M
Montgomery County	38	148	25.7	181	$3.2M
Wise County	34	154	22.1	348	$2.7M
Alexandria city	199	991	20.1	404	$7.2M
Falls Church city	31	156	19.9	74	$472K
Botetourt County	19	137	13.9	239	$3.7M
Warren County	17	136	12.5	370	$6.8M
Richmond city	43	351	12.3	547	$12M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Virginia by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Severe Storm	20
Flood	16
Hurricane	16
Fire	8
Snowstorm	6
Tropical Storm	2
Biological	2
Drought	2
Winter Storm	1
Severe Ice Storm	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
23 Jan 2026	EM-3631	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	135
4 Apr 2025	DR-4863	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	36
1 Oct 2024	DR-4831	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Helene	37
29 Sep 2024	EM-3621	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Post-Tropical Cyclone Helene	24
30 Sep 2022	DR-4674	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Flooding And Mudslides	2
11 Mar 2022	DR-4644	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	28
26 Oct 2021	DR-4628	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	1
10 May 2021	DR-4602	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	33
2 Apr 2020	DR-4512	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	134
13 Mar 2020	EM-3448	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	134
18 Dec 2018	DR-4411	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Michael	36
15 Oct 2018	DR-4401	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	32
11 Sep 2018	EM-3403	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	134
2 Nov 2016	DR-4291	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Matthew	10
7 Mar 2016	DR-4262	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	30

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Virginia by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

50,609 claims, 39,801 paid, $772M in total; 6,388 repetitive-loss and 670 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Virginia with flood claims (501).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1951

Questions and answers

Which Virginia counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Fauquier (28), Loudoun (28) and Pittsylvania (24), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Virginia counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Virginia Beach city (6,260), Norfolk city (6,019) and Hampton city (5,774) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Virginia had?

77 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 1 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Virginia compare with the national rate?

146.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 5.9 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.