Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Watches
Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2026
5 tornado watches in 2026. 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 watches reaches back to 1997.
Tornado Watches by county
Each county as a circle sized by its count in 2026. Tap one for its archive.
- Tornado Watches
- 5
- Busiest month
- March3 tornado watches
- Busiest day
- March 16, 20262 tornado watches
Over time
By month
The alerts
Every alert, in the order issued. Times are local, Eastern Time. Each opens its own page with the text, the map, the radar and the sounding.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 11, 1:45 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Clarke, Frederick, Loudoun, Shenandoah, Warren, City of Winchester | 6 hr |
| Mar 16, 8:54 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt and 18 more | 5 hr |
| Mar 16, 10:52 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Accomack, Amelia, Arlington, Brunswick, Caroline, Charles City and 68 more | 8 hr |
| Jul 28, 4:20 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Arlington, Fairfax, King George, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford and 6 more | 5 hr |
| Aug 20, 2:58 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Arlington, Fairfax, King George, Prince William, Stafford, City of Alexandria and 5 more | 7 hr |
By county
Every county with at least one alert. A county page lists each alert that covered it.
- Arlington County3
- Fairfax County3
- King George County3
- Prince William County3
- Stafford County3
- City of Alexandria3
- City of Fairfax3
- City of Falls Church3
- City of Fredericksburg3
- City of Manassas3
- City of Manassas Park3
- Clarke County2
- Frederick County2
- Loudoun County2
- Warren County2
- City of Winchester2
- Spotsylvania County2
- Shenandoah County1
- Alleghany County1
- Amherst County1
- Appomattox County1
- Bath County1
- Bedford County1
- Botetourt County1
- Buckingham County1
- Campbell County1
- Charlotte County1
- Franklin County1
- Halifax County1
- Henry County1
- Patrick County1
- Pittsylvania County1
- Roanoke County1
- Rockbridge County1
- City of Buena Vista1
- City of Covington1
- City of Danville1
- City of Lexington1
- City of Lynchburg1
- City of Martinsville1
59 more counties
- City of Roanoke1
- City of Salem1
- Accomack County1
- Amelia County1
- Brunswick County1
- Caroline County1
- Charles City County1
- Chesterfield County1
- Culpeper County1
- Cumberland County1
- Dinwiddie County1
- Essex County1
- Fauquier County1
- Fluvanna County1
- Gloucester County1
- Goochland County1
- Greensville County1
- Hanover County1
- Henrico County1
- Isle of Wight County1
- James City County1
- King and Queen County1
- King William County1
- Lancaster County1
- Louisa County1
- Lunenburg County1
- Mathews County1
- Mecklenburg County1
- Middlesex County1
- New Kent County1
- Northampton County1
- Northumberland County1
- Nottoway County1
- Orange County1
- Powhatan County1
- Prince Edward County1
- Prince George County1
- Rappahannock County1
- Richmond County1
- Southampton County1
- Surry County1
- Sussex County1
- Westmoreland County1
- York County1
- City of Chesapeake1
- City of Colonial Heights1
- City of Emporia1
- City of Franklin1
- City of Hampton1
- City of Hopewell1
- City of Newport News1
- City of Norfolk1
- City of Petersburg1
- City of Poquoson1
- City of Portsmouth1
- City of Richmond1
- City of Suffolk1
- City of Virginia Beach1
- City of Williamsburg1
The busiest days
Days with the most alerts issued, by UTC date.
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. Warning verification from the Mesonet's Cow. Rebuilt daily.