Clarke County, Virginia
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 51043 · population 14,780 · 176 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 681 records for Clarke County, Virginia from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 545 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (195 records). 370 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the June 30, 2003 heat, filed for the forecast zone Clarke, which covers the county: 1 death. FEMA has issued 20 declarations naming the county since 1972, 18 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on January 23, 2026.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 681on 545 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 14 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $35Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 11strongest F2
- FEMA declarations
- 20latest 2026
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Clarke County most?
The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 195 since 1969. 58% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Virginia's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 195 | 124 | 1969-2026 | 0 | 1 | $1.0M | 4 of 96 |
| Winter storms | 188 | 179 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 1 | $333K | 2 of 96 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 59 | 59 | 2001-2021 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 of 96 |
| Floods | 53 | 39 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $7.0M | 13 of 96 |
| Hail | 43 | 31 | 1962-2025 | 0 | 0 | $3.7M | 11 of 96 |
| Extreme cold | 42 | 42 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 0 | $2.5M | 5 of 96 |
| Heat | 38 | 38 | 1996-2021 | 1 | 0 | – | 4 of 96 |
| High wind and dust storms | 28 | 28 | 1996-2023 | 0 | 2 | $476K | 5 of 96 |
| Drought | 12 | 12 | 1997-2007 | 0 | 0 | $15M | 1 of 96 |
| Tornadoes | 11 | 10 | 1975-2024 | 0 | 0 | $1.6M | 6 of 96 |
| Heavy rain | 7 | 7 | 1998-2003 | 0 | 0 | – | 47 of 96 |
| Wildfires | 3 | 2 | 1996-1999 | 0 | 0 | $3.0M | 2 of 96 |
| Lightning | 2 | 2 | 1996-2021 | 0 | 0 | $6K | 34 of 96 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Clarke County had?
NOAA records 11 tornadoes in Clarke County from 1975 to 2024, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 6th of 96 Virginia counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 10 tornadoes whose track touched Clarke County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 11: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Virginia.
Every tornado record filed for Clarke County (11)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08-08 | Claytonville, Clarke County | EF0 0.46 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $24K |
| 2017-05-30 | Berryville, Clarke County | EF0 0.45 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2008-06-04 | Millwood, Clarke County | EF1 0.54 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $27K |
| 2004-09-08 | Berryville, Clarke County | F0 0.3 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2001-05-27 | Millwood, Clarke County | F1 1.5 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $8K |
| 1998-06-02 | Berryville, Clarke County | F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $27K |
| 1997-06-18 | Berryville, Clarke County | F0 0.3 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | $6K |
| 1986-08-02 | Clarke County | F1 1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1986-08-02 | Clarke County | F1 1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1976-03-21 | Clarke County | 0 | 0 | $25K step | |
| 1975-08-04 | Clarke County | F2 0.8 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Clarke County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 11, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-11 | Thunderstorm WindBerryville, Clarke County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-05-20 | Thunderstorm WindBoyce, Clarke County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindWhite Post, Clarke County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-03-11 | Thunderstorm WindBerryville, Clarke County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-03-11 | Thunderstorm WindBoyce, Clarke County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-03-02 | Winter WeatherClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-07 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-23 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-01 | Winter WeatherClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-06-30 | HeatClarke County · forecast zone Clarke A 15-year-old-girl died of heat stroke on July 2nd while hiking on the Appalachian Trail along the Clarke and Loudoun County border. She was participating in a 13-day hiking trip with other students from Georgia, and she died on the 4th day of the hike. She complained of stomach pains and dizziness before collapsing. ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2003-09-18 | High WindClarke County · forecast zone Clarke By 9 pm on September 18, a rain band associated with Isabel had set up over the Shenandoah Valley and showers were training southward into the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east side of Augusta County. The rain gauge located at Upper Sherando had recorded over 6 inches of rain and more was to come. County officials ... | 50 kt wind | 0 | 2 | $321K |
| 2023-07-28 | Thunderstorm WindWaterloo, Clarke County Several dozen trees and wires blew down in the Boyce area of Clarke County, including several onto vehicles. One tree blew down onto a car in the 11800 block of US-340 Lord Fairfax Highway, injuring the occupant. | 61 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $73K |
| 1996-01-07 | BlizzardClarke County · forecast zone Clarke An historic winter storm, known as the "Blizzard of '96", crippled all of northern Virginia during the first full weekend of January. In general, snow totals ranged from 20 inches on the coastal plain (VAZ052>53; 055>057) to over 3 feet at the higher elevations of the central and northern Shenandoah Valley. To ... | 0 | 1 | $9K |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-07-01 | DroughtClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | $12M | |
| 1997-07-01 | DroughtClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | $3.7M | |
| 1997-04-10 | Frost/FreezeClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | $2.5M | |
| 1996-09-06 | FloodClarke County · forecast zone Clarke | 0 | 0 | $2.4M | |
| 1999-04-23 | HailBoyce, Clarke County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $1.8M |
| 1996-09-06 | Flash FloodCountywide, Clarke County | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 1996-04-25 | WildfireAll, Clarke County | 0 | 0 | $1.4M | |
| 1996-01-19 | Flash FloodAll, Clarke County | 0 | 0 | $1.1M |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: August 4, 1975 (tornado, Clarke County).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Clarke County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 39 | 85 | 41 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 20 | 46 | 81 | 41 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | – | – | – | – | 0 | 9 | 39 z | 11 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 12 | 9 | 29 | 3 |
| Hail | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 3 |
| Extreme cold | – | – | – | – | 2 | 15 | 14 | 11 |
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds in the 2010s: 39 records against 9 in the decade before, 39 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Clarke County days with a record above.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
58% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 87 · Feb 75 · Mar 59 · Apr 37 · May 56 · Jun 91 · Jul 89 · Aug 52 · Sep 38 · Oct 27 · Nov 13 · Dec 57 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Clarke County
FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Clarke County: 13 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (6) and snowstorm (4).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-23 | EM-3631 | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2020-04-02 | DR-4512 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3448 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2018-09-11 | EM-3403 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence |
| 2016-03-07 | DR-4262 | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm |
| 2012-11-26 | DR-4092 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2012-10-29 | EM-3359 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2012-07-27 | DR-4072 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds |
| 2010-04-27 | DR-1905 | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms |
| 2005-09-12 | EM-3240 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2003-09-18 | DR-1491 | Hurricane | Hurricane Isabel |
| 2003-03-27 | DR-1458 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snowfall, Heavy Rain,Floodind, and Mudslide |
| 2000-02-28 | DR-1318 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 1996-09-06 | DR-1135 | Hurricane | Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond |
| 1996-01-27 | DR-1098 | Flood | Flooding, High Winds, and Wind Driven Rain |
| 1996-01-13 | DR-1086 | Snowstorm | Blizzard of 96 (Severe Snow Storm) |
| 1993-03-25 | EM-3112 | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 1985-11-09 | DR-755 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1977-07-23 | EM-3046 | Drought | Drought |
| 1972-06-23 | DR-339 | Flood | Tropical Storm Agnes |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Clarke County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 53 flood or flash flood records for Clarke County from 1996 to 2025, on 39 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Clarke County ranks 1851st of 2,942 U.S. counties.
| Storm | Began | Records | Deaths in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Fran | 1996-09-06 | 2 | 0 |
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $541,000 on 34 claims filed in Clarke County; the most in one year was 21 in 1996. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1979: 1 · 1985: 5 · 1996: 21 · 2003: 2 · 2011: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 1; the other years: 0.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Clarke County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clarke County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $5.6 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | $556K | 3.9 modeled event-days a year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | $681K | 3.5 modeled event-days a year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | $490K | 7.4 a year (modeled) |
| Hurricane | Very Low | $193K | once in about 11 years (modeled) |
| Landslide | Very Low | $2K | once in about 9 years (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Very Low | $166K | once in about 819 years (modeled) |
| Wildfire | Very Low | $26K | once in about 716 years (modeled) |
| Hail | Very Low | $108K | 3.9 a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Clarke County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in VirginiaEvery Virginia tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind in VirginiaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
- The Virginia recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Clarke CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Clarke County's FEMA declarations (CSV)20 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis