Heat in Virginia, May 18 to 21, 1996

Name: Heat in Virginia, May 18 to 21, 1996
Start: 1996-05-18T12:00
End: 1996-05-21T17:00
Location: Virginia

May 18 to 21, 1996 · NWS AKQ · 42 events in 42 counties and zones

AN EARLY-SEASON FOUR-DAY HEAT WAVE PRODUCED RECORD OR NEAR RECORDHIGH TEMPERATURES ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN VIRGINIA. HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 80S AND LOW 90S ACROSS THE REGION ON MAY 18.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 30 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 42

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS AKQ wrote it up.

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

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

42 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Fluvanna

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Fluvanna forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.842, -78.277 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Louisa

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Louisa forecast zone

Heat, Prince Edward

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Prince Edward forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.224, -78.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Cumberland

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.512, -78.245 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Goochland

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Goochland forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.722, -77.916 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Hanover

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Hanover forecast zone

Heat, Caroline

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Caroline forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.027, -77.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Mecklenburg

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Mecklenburg forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.680, -78.363 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Lunenburg

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Lunenburg forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.946, -78.241 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Nottoway

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Nottoway forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.143, -78.051 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Amelia

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Amelia forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.336, -77.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Powhatan

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Powhatan forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.550, -77.915 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Chesterfield

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Chesterfield forecast zone

Heat, Henrico

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Henrico forecast zone

Heat, King William

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: King William forecast zone

Heat, King and Queen

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: King and Queen forecast zone

Heat, Essex

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Essex forecast zone

Heat, Westmoreland

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Westmoreland forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.113, -76.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Richmond

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Richmond forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.937, -76.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Northumberland

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Northumberland forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.882, -76.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Lancaster

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Lancaster forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.702, -76.420 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Brunswick

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Brunswick forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.765, -77.859 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Dinwiddie

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Dinwiddie forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.076, -77.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Prince George

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Prince George forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.240, -77.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Charles City

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Charles City forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.354, -77.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Gloucester

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.401, -76.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Middlesex

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Middlesex forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.597, -76.578 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Mathews

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Mathews forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.417, -76.271 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Greensville

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Greensville forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.681, -77.551 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Sussex

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Sussex forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.922, -77.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Surry

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Surry forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.117, -76.888 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, James City

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: James City forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.292, -76.740 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, York

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: York forecast zone

Heat, Southampton

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Southampton forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.699, -77.014 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Isle of Wight

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Isle of Wight forecast zone

Heat, Newport News

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Newport News forecast zone

Heat, Norfolk

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Norfolk forecast zone

Heat, Suffolk

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Suffolk forecast zone

Heat, Chesapeake

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Chesapeake forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.688, -76.312 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Virginia Beach

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Virginia Beach forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.738, -76.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Accomack

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Accomack forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.765, -75.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Northampton

When: May 18, 12:00 PM EST to May 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Northampton forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.301, -75.928 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heat: Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Virginia in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, May 1996

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5582902, 5582903, 5582904, 5582905, 5582906, 5582907, 5582908, 5582909, 5582910, 5582911, 5582912, 5582913, 5582914, 5582915, 5582916, 5582917, 5582918, 5582919, 5582920, 5582921, 5582922, 5582923, 5582924, 5582925, 5582926, 5582927, 5583043, 5583044, 5583045, 5583046, 5583047, 5583048, 5583049, 5583050, 5583051, 5583052, 5583053, 5583054, 5583055, 5583056, and more.