Tornadoes in Virginia
828 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 10.9 a year, 27th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 38 people and injured 949. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Virginia
- F3, Albemarle County, VirginiaSeptember 30, 1959
- F4, City of Petersburg, Prince George, Dinwiddie and Chesterfield counties, VirginiaAugust 6, 1993
- EF1, Sussex and Surry counties, VirginiaFebruary 24, 2016
- EF3, Washington and Smyth counties, VirginiaApril 27, 2011
- EF3, Surry, York, James City and Gloucester counties, VirginiaApril 16, 2011
- F3, Hanover County, VirginiaApril 1, 1998
- F2, Augusta County, VirginiaMay 4, 1990
- EF2, Chesterfield County, VirginiaSeptember 17, 2018
- EF3, Appomattox County, VirginiaFebruary 24, 2016
- EF2, Halifax County, VirginiaApril 27, 2011
- F3, King William County, VirginiaOctober 18, 1990
- F3, Fairfax County, VirginiaSeptember 5, 1979
The strongest
- F4 Rixeyville–Jeffersonton tornado, VirginiaSeptember 24, 2001
- F4, City of Petersburg, Prince George, Dinwiddie and Chesterfield counties, VirginiaAugust 6, 1993
- F3, Sussex and Surry counties, VirginiaApril 19, 1978
- EF3, King and Queen, Essex, Richmond and Westmoreland counties, VirginiaFebruary 24, 2016
- EF3, Surry, York, James City and Gloucester counties, VirginiaApril 16, 2011
- EF3, City of Suffolk, City of Portsmouth and City of Norfolk counties, VirginiaApril 28, 2008
- EF3, City of Lynchburg, Campbell and Amherst counties, VirginiaApril 15, 2018
- EF3, Washington and Smyth counties, VirginiaApril 27, 2011
- F3, Fairfax County, VirginiaSeptember 5, 1979
- EF3, Appomattox County, VirginiaFebruary 24, 2016
- F3, Brunswick County, VirginiaOctober 14, 1986
- F3, Fairfax and Fauquier counties, VirginiaApril 1, 1973
The longest paths
- F2, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Dinwiddie and Chesterfield counties, VirginiaAugust 6, 1993
- F3, Sussex and Surry counties, VirginiaApril 19, 1978
- EF2, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, VirginiaApril 28, 2011
- EF3, King and Queen, Essex, Richmond and Westmoreland counties, VirginiaFebruary 24, 2016
- EF3, Surry, York, James City and Gloucester counties, VirginiaApril 16, 2011
- EF3, City of Suffolk, City of Portsmouth and City of Norfolk counties, VirginiaApril 28, 2008
- EF0, Fluvanna, Goochland and Powhatan counties, VirginiaJune 16, 2022
- EF2, Isle of Wight County, VirginiaApril 16, 2011
- F1, City of Norfolk and City of Virginia Beach counties, VirginiaApril 30, 1968
- F2, Louisa and Spotsylvania counties, VirginiaAugust 9, 1962
- EF1, Fluvanna and Goochland counties, VirginiaJune 16, 2022
- EF1, City of Suffolk County, VirginiaAugust 4, 2020
The costliest
- F2, Henry and Franklin counties, VirginiaSeptember 17, 2004
- EF3, City of Suffolk, City of Portsmouth and City of Norfolk counties, VirginiaApril 28, 2008
- EF3 Virginia Beach tornado, VirginiaApril 30, 2023
- EF3, City of Lynchburg, Campbell and Amherst counties, VirginiaApril 15, 2018
- EF3, Appomattox County, VirginiaFebruary 24, 2016
- EF2, Stafford County, VirginiaMay 8, 2008
- EF3, King and Queen, Essex, Richmond and Westmoreland counties, VirginiaFebruary 24, 2016
- EF3, Surry, York, James City and Gloucester counties, VirginiaApril 16, 2011
- EF2, Southampton County, VirginiaAugust 4, 2020
- EF2, City of Chesapeake and City of Virginia Beach counties, VirginiaMarch 31, 2017
- F2, City of Hampton County, VirginiaSeptember 4, 1999
- EF2, Middlesex County, VirginiaApril 16, 2011
The biggest days in Virginia
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 2 tornado tracks surveyed in Virginia so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 2 | |||
| 2025 | 4 | |||
| 2024 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 2023 | 6 | |||
| 2022 | 16 | 3 | ||
| 2021 | 11 | |||
| 2020 | 15 | 5 | ||
| 2019 | 23 | |||
| 2018 | 28 | 1 | 13 | |
| 2017 | 26 | |||
| 2016 | 9 | 4 | 40 | |
| 2015 | 7 | |||
| 2014 | 13 | 15 | ||
| 2013 | 5 | |||
| 2012 | 11 | 6 | ||
| 2011 | 48 | 6 | 97 | |
| 2010 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2009 | 16 | |||
| 2008 | 40 | 223 | ||
| 2007 | 2 | |||
| 2006 | 16 | 3 | ||
| 2005 | 24 | |||
| 2004 | 83 | 14 | ||
| 2003 | 31 | 3 | ||
| 2002 | 7 | 17 | ||
| 2001 | 13 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 11 | 1 | ||
| 1999 | 9 | 23 | ||
| 1998 | 14 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1997 | 10 | |||
| 1996 | 23 | 10 | ||
| 1995 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 1994 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 1993 | 28 | 4 | 258 | 1 |
| 1992 | 5 | |||
| 1991 | 2 | |||
| 1990 | 17 | 3 | 13 | |
| 1989 | 9 | |||
| 1988 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1987 | 4 | |||
| 1986 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1985 | 3 | |||
| 1984 | 6 | 15 | ||
| 1983 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 1982 | 1 | |||
| 1981 | 4 | |||
| 1980 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1979 | 11 | 1 | 19 | |
| 1978 | 5 | 1 | 13 | |
| 1977 | 12 | 3 | ||
| 1976 | 9 | |||
| 1975 | 22 | 6 | ||
| 1974 | 9 | 1 | 11 | |
| 1973 | 5 | 37 | ||
| 1972 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1971 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1970 | 4 | |||
| 1969 | 7 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1968 | 2 | |||
| 1967 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1966 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1965 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1964 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1963 | 1 | |||
| 1962 | 8 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1961 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 1960 | 5 | |||
| 1959 | 12 | 12 | 13 | |
| 1958 | 1 | |||
| 1957 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1956 | 4 | |||
| 1955 | 1 | |||
| 1954 | 5 | |||
| 1953 | 6 | |||
| 1952 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1951 | 5 | 12 |
Every county in Virginia
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 828. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in VirginiaForecast for your townThe live radar over Virginia
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.