Tornadoes and Hail in Virginia, April 4, 1974

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Virginia, April 4, 1974
Start: 1974-04-04T01:20
End: 1974-04-04T16:30
Location: Virginia

April 4, 1974 · 27 events in 22 counties and zones

19 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 4
Property damage: $5.8 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 27

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

19 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Dickenson

When: April 4, 1:20 AM CST
Where: Dickenson County
Rating: F1
Path length: 7.3 mi
Path width: 17 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 37.250, -82.420

Tornado, Lee

When: April 4, 1:21 AM CST
Where: Lee County
Rating: F0
Path length: 8.6 mi
Path width: 17 yd
Property damage: $250
Coordinates: 36.680, -83.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Lee

When: April 4, 1:30 AM CST
Where: Lee County
Coordinates: 36.680, -83.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Scott

When: April 4, 1:45 AM CST
Where: Scott County
Coordinates: 36.770, -82.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Buchanan

When: April 4, 1:45 AM CST
Where: Buchanan County
Coordinates: 37.220, -82.000

Tornado, Bristol (C)

When: April 4, 2:00 AM CST
Where: Bristol (C) County
Rating: F0
Path length: 4.3 mi
Path width: 2,500 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 36.580, -82.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Scott

When: April 4, 2:20 AM CST
Where: Scott County
Coordinates: 36.650, -82.470

Thunderstorm Wind, Tazewell

When: April 4, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Tazewell County
Coordinates: 37.120, -81.520

Thunderstorm Wind, Russell

When: April 4, 2:40 AM CST
Where: Russell County
Coordinates: 36.900, -82.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: April 4, 2:45 AM CST
Where: Washington County
Coordinates: 36.600, -82.200

Tornado, Washington

When: April 4, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Washington County
Rating: F3
Path length: 5.4 mi
Path width: 177 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.850, -81.920

Hail, Russell

When: April 4, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Russell County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.880, -81.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Wythe

When: April 4, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Wythe County
Coordinates: 36.950, -81.080

Tornado, Smyth

When: April 4, 3:05 AM CST
Where: Smyth County
Rating: F3
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 177 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.870, -81.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Highland

When: April 4, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Highland County
Coordinates: 38.420, -79.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Bath

When: April 4, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Bath County
Coordinates: 38.050, -79.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Pulaski

When: April 4, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Pulaski County
Coordinates: 37.050, -80.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Roanoke

When: April 4, 4:08 AM CST
Where: Roanoke County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 37.330, -79.980

Tornado, Augusta

When: April 4, 4:40 AM CST
Where: Augusta County
Rating: F1
Path length: 15.2 mi
Path width: 17 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 38.150, -79.170

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When: April 4, 4:40 AM CST
Where: Montgomery County
Coordinates: 37.130, -80.420

Tornado, Roanoke

When: April 4, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Roanoke County
Rating: F2
Path length: 6.5 mi
Path width: 177 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 37.300, -80.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Loudoun

When: April 4, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Loudoun County
Coordinates: 39.200, -77.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Botetourt

When: April 4, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Botetourt County
Coordinates: 37.500, -79.880

Thunderstorm Wind, Madison

When: April 4, 5:30 AM CST
Where: Madison County
Coordinates: 38.380, -78.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When: April 4, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Franklin County
Coordinates: 37.000, -79.880

Thunderstorm Wind, Lunenburg

When: April 4, 12:30 PM CST
Where: Lunenburg County
Coordinates: 36.950, -78.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Norfolk (C)

When: April 4, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Norfolk (C) County
Coordinates: 36.820, -76.270

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Washington	1974-04-04				Direct

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Virginia in 1974 Every state in 1974 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Virginia, 1974

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10149888, 10149889, 10149890, 10149891, 10149892, 10149893, 10149894, 10149895, 10149896, 10149897, 10149898, 10149899, 10149900, 10149901, 10149902, 10149903, 10149904, 10149905, 10149906, 10149907, 10149908, 10149909, 10149910, 10149911, 10149912, 10149913, 10149914.