Smyth County, Virginia

What hazards hit Smyth County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 152 since 1972. 45% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1972 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.

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 Smyth County had?

NOAA records 7 tornadoes in Smyth County from 1974 to 2011, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 5 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 7 tornadoes whose track touched Smyth County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 7, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people, 0 of them in Smyth County.

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 Smyth County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 28, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Two outbuildings were destroyed by thunderstorm winds along Old Shannon Gap Road. One shed was lifted off of its foundation by the thunderstorm winds and moved at least 30 feet.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1279416)

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

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: 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 Smyth 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).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

45% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1972 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Smyth County

FEMA's register lists 21 declarations that include Smyth County: 13 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (6) and hurricane (3).

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 Smyth County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 65 flood or flash flood records for Smyth County from 1996 to 2025, on 43 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Smyth County ranks 1054th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.2 million on 160 claims filed in Smyth County; the most in one year was 30 in 2024. 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 Smyth County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Smyth County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $14.8 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 Smyth County

1. Tazewell County 567
2. Grayson County 465
3. Smyth County 437
4. Washington County 406
5. Wythe County 406
6. Russell County 308
7. Bland County 238

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 Smyth CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Smyth County's FEMA declarations (CSV)21 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis