Virginia floods
Every recorded flood since 1996 · 134 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 8,165 floods and flash floods in Virginia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 283 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the August 30, 2004 flash flood: 8 deaths and $45.3 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 6 records. Virginia ranks 4th of 52 states and territories by count and 9th of 51 per square mile.
Floods in Virginia, 1996 to 2026
Flood records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 8,1651996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 283average
- Deaths
- 6419 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $1.4Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 20181,103 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are floods and flash floods common in Virginia?
Virginia averages about 283 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 4th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2018 (1,103). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Virginia records 2068 floods and flash floods since 1996, 9th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Virginia have the most floods and flash floods?
Per square mile, Fairfax County leads Virginia: 185 days with a flood since 1996, 473.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Fairfax County has the most flood records (547 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is flood season in Virginia?
Virginia's floods and flash floods by month. The busiest month is September (1,315 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 452 · Feb 363 · Mar 344 · Apr 366 · May 905 · Jun 1,067 · Jul 1,119 · Aug 1,087 · Sep 1,315 · Oct 553 · Nov 308 · Dec 286 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in Virginia?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-08-30 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. Rainfall amounts between 5 and 12 inches resulted in numerous road closures due to flooding. In addition, about 20 blocks of downtown Richmond were condemned due to the floodwaters. A brick building collapsed in the city's historic and low-lying Shockoe Bottom area, and several dozen buildings had extensive water ... | 8 | 0 | $45M | |
| 1996-09-06 | Hurricane Fran · Flash FloodCountywide, Augusta County One named storm filed by several offices: 45 records in 32 episodes, 1996-09-06 to 1996-09-08; the totals are the storm's. | 5 | 1 | $320M | |
| 2018-10-11 | Tropical Storm Michael · Flash FloodDanville (city) One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. Hurricane Michael made landfall along the Florida panhandle as major hurricane (Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale) on Wednesday afternoon, October 10th, 2018, then tracked northeastward with the northern portion of the storm circulation tracking across portions of Southside, Virginia Thursday afternoon, the 11th. ... | 5 | 0 | $19M | |
| 1996-01-19 | FloodCulpeper County · forecast zone Culpeper One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. ***River Flooding***High dewpoint temperatures melted most of the snow on the ground within 12 hours. The snow pack had a liquid equivalent between 2 to 3 inches. Snowmelt, combined with 1 to 3 inches of rain (some locations received nearly 5 inches), caused the worst regional flooding in over 10 years. River flooding ... | 4 | 0 | $24M | |
| 2011-09-08 | Tropical Storm Lee · Flash FloodFt Belvoir, Fairfax County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Abnormally moist atmosphere across the mid-Atlantic allowed showers and thunderstorms to produce exceptional rainfall rates across portions of northern Virginia as the remnants of Tropical Depression Lee interacted with a nearly stationary boundary near the Mason-Dixon line. Major flooding and flash flooding occurred ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2018-05-30 | Flash FloodFarmington, Albemarle County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places, 2018-05-30 to 2018-05-31; the totals are the episode's. Upslope winds on the east side of the Blue Ridge just north of an approaching warm front aided in producing torrential rainfall and catastrophic flooding in parts of Central Virginia. Rainfall amounts of 4-10 inches occurred north and west of Charlottesville. Later in the evening, heavy rain developed in northern ... | 3 | 0 | $6.0M | |
| 2003-02-22 | FloodMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Heavy rain over a long period of time caused small stream and urban flooding. A man who had been rescued once from the North Fork of the Roanoke River, returned to his truck with his father, and attempted to recover items from the truck. They remained trapped in the flood waters for several hours. The son died later ... | 2 | 1 | $4.8M | |
| 2013-07-03 | FloodSalem (C), Salem (city) One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. The synoptic pattern during the most of the first week of July was favorable for heavy precipitation as the Blacksburg Hydrologic Service Area (HSA) remained within a mean upper trough between two very strong ridges over the western U.S. and over the western Atlantic. Deep southerly flow into the mountains persisted ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-04-16 | FloodWaynesboro (city) Child and adult swept into Rockfish Run from the Kirby Street Bridge. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2004-06-16 | Flash FloodCountywide, Henry County Heavy rain producing thunderstorms produced flashing flooding in and around Buena Vista in Rockbridge County, across southern sections of Henry and Patrick Counties. One thunderstorm produced a downburst in Henry County as well, downing a tree in Bassett. Kerrs Creek left its banks yielding the evacuation of one home. ... | 2 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest floods and flash floods in Virginia
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-09-06 | Hurricane Fran · Flash FloodCountywide, Augusta County One named storm filed by several offices: 45 records in 32 episodes, 1996-09-06 to 1996-09-08; the totals are the storm's. | 5 | 1 | $320M | |
| 2024-09-27 | Tropical Storm Helene · Flash FloodWhitetop, Grayson County One named storm filed by several offices: 8 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 1 | 0 | $211M | |
| 1998-02-04 | Coastal FloodYork County and Poquoson (city) · forecast zone York / Poquoson | 0 | 0 | $136M | |
| 2016-10-08 | Hurricane Matthew · Coastal FloodSuffolk (city) · forecast zone Suffolk One named storm filed by several offices: 11 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 1 | 0 | $69M | |
| 2006-09-01 | Tropical Depression Ernesto · Coastal FloodNorthumberland County · forecast zone Northumberland One named storm filed by several offices: 8 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 0 | $69M | |
| 2009-11-12 | Tropical Depression Ida · Coastal FloodChesapeake (city) and Norfolk (city) · forecast zone Norfolk One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $55M | |
| 1996-01-19 | Flash FloodAll, Shenandoah County | 0 | 0 | $51M | |
| 2004-08-30 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 8 | 0 | $45M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are floods and flash floods becoming more frequent in Virginia?
Virginia's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Virginia | United States | Virginia's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 754 | 20,986 | 3.6% |
| 2000s | 1,627 | 54,913 | 3.0% |
| 2010s | 3,081 | 68,322 | 4.5% |
| 2020-26 | 2,703 | 43,563 | 6.2% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent floods and flash floods in Virginia
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodAmpt Hill, Chesterfield County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodChimney Corner, Chesterfield County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | $30K | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodHighland Spgs, Henrico County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodRichmond (city) | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for floods and flash floods in Virginia
FEMA has declared 32 disasters in Virginia for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 32 were major disasters, the latest on April 4, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-04 | DR-4863 | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding | 36 |
| 2022-09-30 | DR-4674 | Flooding and Mudslides | 2 |
| 2021-10-26 | DR-4628 | Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 1 |
| 2009-12-09 | DR-1862 | Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Ida and A Nor'east | 12 |
| 2006-09-22 | DR-1661 | Tropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms and Flooding | 26 |
| 2006-07-13 | DR-1655 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 16 |
| 2004-10-18 | DR-1570 | Severe Storms and Flooding From the Remanants of Hurricane Jeanne | 10 |
| 2004-09-03 | DR-1544 | Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes Associated W Td Gaston | 12 |
| 2004-06-15 | DR-1525 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 4 |
| 2003-12-09 | DR-1502 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 6 |
| 2003-03-27 | DR-1458 | Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snowfall, Heavy Rain,Floodind, and Mudslide | 39 |
| 2002-05-05 | DR-1411 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 15 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Fairfax County: the county's whole recordThe Virginia county with the most floods and flash floods per square mile
- Floods across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in VirginiaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Virginia20,677 records
- Winter storms in Virginia10,408 records
- Hail in Virginia6,183 records