Tornado Warnings in Virginia
1,752 tornado warnings since 1986. An alert counts here when it covered any part of the state, so the counties below add up to more than the state. The archive of tornado warnings reaches back to 1986.
Tornado Warnings by county
Each county as a circle sized by its count since 1986. Tap one for its archive.
- Tornado Warnings
- 1,752
- Busiest year
- 2011176 tornado warnings
- Average year
- 44over 40 years on file
Over time
By year
Before October 2007 these were issued for whole counties, and a storm crossing three counties was often three warnings; since then one polygon follows the storm. The count changed with the practice, not only with the weather.
By month of the year
By county
Every county with at least one alert. A county page lists each alert that covered it.
- Pittsylvania County94
- City of Suffolk91
- Hanover County86
- City of Chesapeake82
- City of Virginia Beach78
- Henry County77
- Halifax County75
- Henrico County68
- Fauquier County67
- Chesterfield County66
- King and Queen County62
- Caroline County61
- Isle of Wight County60
- Southampton County58
- Stafford County58
- King William County57
- Mecklenburg County57
- Franklin County56
- Spotsylvania County55
- Fairfax County53
- Amelia County53
- Essex County52
- Loudoun County52
- Lee County50
- Dinwiddie County49
- Prince William County48
- Brunswick County47
- Scott County47
- Culpeper County46
- Charlotte County46
- Richmond County44
- Goochland County44
- New Kent County43
- Charles City County42
- Lunenburg County42
- Sussex County41
- City of Norfolk41
- Middlesex County41
- Prince George County39
- Nottoway County38
93 more counties
- Campbell County38
- Patrick County37
- Albemarle County37
- Louisa County36
- Northumberland County36
- Surry County36
- Lancaster County36
- Bedford County35
- Powhatan County35
- Greensville County34
- Orange County33
- City of Martinsville33
- City of Portsmouth32
- James City County31
- Frederick County31
- King George County31
- Gloucester County29
- Washington County27
- Westmoreland County26
- Rockingham County26
- Madison County25
- York County25
- City of Hampton24
- Wise County24
- City of Fredericksburg24
- Shenandoah County23
- City of Richmond23
- Carroll County22
- Clarke County21
- City of Danville21
- Accomack County20
- Wythe County20
- City of Newport News20
- Prince Edward County20
- Bland County20
- Russell County19
- Cumberland County19
- Greene County18
- Nelson County18
- Rappahannock County18
- Smyth County18
- Augusta County17
- Appomattox County17
- Tazewell County17
- Amherst County17
- City of Hopewell16
- City of Petersburg16
- City of Fairfax15
- Giles County15
- Warren County15
- Mathews County15
- Page County15
- Northampton County14
- Buckingham County14
- City of Bristol14
- City of Charlottesville14
- Fluvanna County14
- Montgomery County13
- City of Franklin13
- Grayson County13
- City of Lynchburg11
- City of Manassas11
- Botetourt County11
- City of Norton11
- City of Poquoson11
- Arlington County10
- City of Alexandria10
- City of Falls Church10
- Roanoke County9
- Buchanan County9
- City of Emporia9
- City of Colonial Heights9
- City of Manassas Park9
- City of Winchester8
- Rockbridge County8
- Floyd County7
- City of Staunton7
- City of Williamsburg7
- Pulaski County6
- City of Waynesboro6
- Craig County6
- City of Roanoke5
- City of Radford4
- Dickenson County4
- Alleghany County4
- City of Buena Vista3
- City of Harrisonburg3
- City of Lexington3
- Bath County2
- City of Galax2
- Highland County2
- City of Salem1
- City of Covington1
The latest tornado warnings
The most recent on file, newest first.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 4:43 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Charles City, Prince George, Surry | 32 min |
| Sep 4, 7:27 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Isle of Wight, Southampton, City of Franklin | 19 min |
| Aug 22, 9:26 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MRX | Scott | 30 min |
| Aug 20, 8:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Mecklenburg | 20 min |
| Aug 14, 10:38 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Prince George | 20 min |
| Aug 14, 6:21 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Albemarle, City of Charlottesville | 24 min |
| Aug 14, 5:31 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Albemarle, City of Charlottesville | 29 min |
| Aug 14, 5:02 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | LWX | Albemarle, Greene, Rockingham | 28 min |
| Aug 11, 7:21 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RLX | Buchanan | 24 min |
| Aug 11, 2:59 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Grayson, Smyth | 31 min |
| Aug 11, 2:18 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Smyth | 27 min |
| Jul 28, 9:02 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | City of Norfolk, City of Virginia Beach | 28 min |
Nearby
Sources
National Weather Service watches, warnings, advisories and statements from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's VTEC archive, which reconstructs tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood and marine warnings back to 1986 from the NWS text archive. Storm Prediction Center watches and mesoscale discussions from SPC's archive through the Mesonet. County centers from the US Census Bureau. Rebuilt daily.