Nelson County, Virginia

What hazards hit Nelson County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 232 since 1996. 58% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. 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.

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 Nelson County had?

NOAA records 3 tornadoes in Nelson County from 1995 to 2019, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. 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 3 tornadoes whose track touched Nelson County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 3, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Virginia.

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 Nelson County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 16, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

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

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 Nelson 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).

Winter storms in the 2010s: 99 records against 30 in the decade before, 99 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 Nelson 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 winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Nelson County

FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Nelson County: 19 major disasters, 8 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for hurricane (8) and snowstorm (5).

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 Nelson County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 129 flood or flash flood records for Nelson County from 1996 to 2025, on 73 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Nelson County ranks 1887th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $238,000 on 31 claims filed in Nelson County; the most in one year was 10 in 1996. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Nelson County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nelson County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.9 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.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Nelson County

1. Albemarle County 1,357
2. Augusta County 1,101
3. Nelson County 863
4. Rockbridge County 560
5. Buckingham County 527
6. Amherst County 502
7. Appomattox County 377

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
• Winter storms in VirginiaThe state's winter storm records, 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 Nelson CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Nelson County's FEMA declarations (CSV)28 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis