Virginia recorded 828 tornadoes from 1950 through 2024, an average of 11 a year, in NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center database. They killed 38 people. The busiest year was 2004, with 83.
Waynesboro: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Emporia: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Buena Vista: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Danville: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Galax: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Harrisonburg: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Martinsville: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Charlottesville: 1 tornadoes since 1950 King George: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Richmond: 10 tornadoes since 1950 Scott: 4 tornadoes since 1950 Botetourt: 3 tornadoes since 1950 York: 9 tornadoes since 1950 Rappahannock: 4 tornadoes since 1950 Greene: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Radford: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Louisa: 15 tornadoes since 1950 Salem: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Hopewell: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Falls Church: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Lexington: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Cumberland: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Pulaski: 4 tornadoes since 1950 Loudoun: 30 tornadoes since 1950 Appomattox: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Norton: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Henrico: 12 tornadoes since 1950 Franklin: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Henry: 7 tornadoes since 1950 Hampton: 7 tornadoes since 1950 Highland: 1 tornadoes since 1950 King William: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Montgomery: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Richmond: 14 tornadoes since 1950 Amherst: 4 tornadoes since 1950 Mathews: 7 tornadoes since 1950 Petersburg: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Goochland: 11 tornadoes since 1950 Albemarle: 11 tornadoes since 1950 Prince Edward: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Caroline: 15 tornadoes since 1950 Fluvanna: 10 tornadoes since 1950 Northumberland: 11 tornadoes since 1950 Isle of Wight: 16 tornadoes since 1950 Manassas Park: 0 tornadoes since 1950 King and Queen: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Bristol: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Colonial Heights: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Tazewell: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Clarke: 10 tornadoes since 1950 Halifax: 17 tornadoes since 1950 Arlington: 4 tornadoes since 1950 Surry: 9 tornadoes since 1950 Warren: 4 tornadoes since 1950 Washington: 12 tornadoes since 1950 Wise: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Winchester: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Charles City: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Page: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Bland: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Sussex: 10 tornadoes since 1950 Lunenburg: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Buchanan: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Mecklenburg: 11 tornadoes since 1950 Amelia: 11 tornadoes since 1950 Gloucester: 16 tornadoes since 1950 Shenandoah: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Dickenson: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Staunton: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Floyd: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Roanoke: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Alleghany: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Giles: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Franklin: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Bath: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Pittsylvania: 22 tornadoes since 1950 Northampton: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Culpeper: 10 tornadoes since 1950 James City: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Fauquier: 28 tornadoes since 1950 Orange: 14 tornadoes since 1950 Lynchburg: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Campbell: 11 tornadoes since 1950 Norfolk: 13 tornadoes since 1950 Poquoson: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Portsmouth: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Chesterfield: 20 tornadoes since 1950 Suffolk: 22 tornadoes since 1950 Craig: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Frederick: 11 tornadoes since 1950 Chesapeake: 13 tornadoes since 1950 Dinwiddie: 13 tornadoes since 1950 Powhatan: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Greensville: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Hanover: 17 tornadoes since 1950 Rockbridge: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Spotsylvania: 13 tornadoes since 1950 Stafford: 18 tornadoes since 1950 Carroll: 6 tornadoes since 1950 Newport News: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Grayson: 4 tornadoes since 1950 Accomack: 9 tornadoes since 1950 Prince George: 10 tornadoes since 1950 New Kent: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Wythe: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Patrick: 4 tornadoes since 1950 Southampton: 17 tornadoes since 1950 Charlotte: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Rockingham: 10 tornadoes since 1950 Williamsburg: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Smyth: 7 tornadoes since 1950 Middlesex: 10 tornadoes since 1950 Alexandria: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Brunswick: 13 tornadoes since 1950 Fairfax: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Manassas: 1 tornadoes since 1950 Nottoway: 14 tornadoes since 1950 Prince William: 14 tornadoes since 1950 Russell: 6 tornadoes since 1950 Buckingham: 5 tornadoes since 1950 Augusta: 13 tornadoes since 1950 Madison: 9 tornadoes since 1950 Fairfax: 22 tornadoes since 1950 Westmoreland: 6 tornadoes since 1950 Lancaster: 10 tornadoes since 1950 Essex: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Bedford: 12 tornadoes since 1950 Roanoke: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Fredericksburg: 2 tornadoes since 1950 Virginia Beach: 16 tornadoes since 1950 Nelson: 3 tornadoes since 1950 Covington: 0 tornadoes since 1950 Lee: 8 tornadoes since 1950 Tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950:
Tornadoes by year
50
5
3
6
5
1
4
4
1
12
5 60
4
8
1
2
3
6
3
2
7
4 70
2
2
5
10
22
9
12
5
11
6 80
5
1
10
6
3
6
4
5
9
17 90
2
5
28
8
10
25
10
14
9
11 00
13
7
31
83
24
16
2
39
16
7 10
49
11
5
12
7
9
26
29
24
15 20
11
16
6
12
The rise since the 1990s is mostly better detection of weak tornadoes, not a jump in strong ones.
Tornado season in Virginia
18 Jan
25 Feb
30 Mar
140 Apr
112 May
90 Jun
109 Jul
103 Aug
118 Sep
59 Oct
20 Nov
4 Dec
April is the peak, with 140 tornadoes since 1950 (17% of the total).
How strong
Rating
Estimated 3-second gust
Tornadoes
F0 / EF0
Light damage: 65 to 85 mph (EF scale)
337
F1 / EF1
Moderate: 86 to 110 mph
352
F2 / EF2
Considerable: 111 to 135 mph
102
F3 / EF3
Severe: 136 to 165 mph
35
F4 / EF4
Devastating: 166 to 200 mph
2
F5 / EF5
Incredible: over 200 mph
0
The deadliest tornadoes in Virginia
Date
Rating
Deaths in Virginia
Counties
September 30, 1959
F3
11
Albemarle County
August 6, 1993
F4
4
Chesterfield County , Dinwiddie County , Prince George County , Petersburg city
April 27, 2011
EF3
3
Smyth County , Washington County
February 24, 2016
EF1
3
Surry County , Sussex County
May 4, 1990
F2
2
Augusta County
April 1, 1998
F3
2
Hanover County
April 16, 2011
EF3
2
Gloucester County , James City County , Mathews County , Surry County , York County
September 30, 1959
F3
1
Greene County
April 8, 1962
F1
1
Norfolk city
May 8, 1962
F2
1
Goochland County , Powhatan County
Counties with the most tornadoes
Big counties collect more tornadoes simply because they are big. By area, the most tornado-dense counties are York County (74 per 1,000 sq mi), Middlesex County (73 per 1,000 sq mi), Lancaster County (69 per 1,000 sq mi), Mathews County (65 per 1,000 sq mi), Stafford County (64 per 1,000 sq mi).
Every county in Virginia
Staying safe
When a tornado warning is issued, act at once. Go to a basement, storm shelter or safe room. With none, use a small windowless room on the lowest floor, as far from outside walls as you can, and cover your head and neck. Mobile homes and cars are not safe places to ride out a tornado: leave early for a sturdy building or shelter. Read the full tornado safety guide and the National Weather Service advice linked below.
Sources
Sources last checked 1 November 2026.