PlainHazard

Virginia heat

Every recorded heat record since 1996 · 93 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,339 heat records in Virginia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 50 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the May 10, 2018 heat in Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights (city): 2 deaths. Virginia ranks 14th of 51 states and territories by count and 15th of 50 per square mile.

Heat in Virginia, 1996 to 2026

Heat 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
1,3391996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
50average
Deaths
10159 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
–as filed
Busiest year
2012137 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 heat records common in Virginia?

Virginia averages about 50 heat records a year since 2000, 14th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2012 (137). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Virginia records 339 heat records since 1996, 15th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. New Jersey 2320
  2. 2. Delaware 1555
  3. 3. Maryland 1330
  4. 4. Oklahoma 685
  5. 5. Illinois 590
  6. 6. Mississippi 584
  7. 7. Louisiana 576
  8. 8. Missouri 547
  9. 9. Tennessee 540
  10. 10. Puerto Rico 537
  11. 15. Virginia 339

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 heat records?

Per square mile, King George County leads Virginia: 73 days with a heat record since 1996, 406.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Fauquier County has the most heat records (104 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).

  1. King George County 406.4 (75)
  2. Greene County 243.7 (38)
  3. Prince William County 217.7 (75)
  4. Clarke County 216.0 (38)
  5. Warren County 181.8 (39)
  6. Spotsylvania County 179.1 (73)
  7. Fairfax County 166.2 (101)
  8. Orange County 158.6 (54)
  9. Culpeper County 145.1 (55)
  10. Rappahannock County 142.7 (38)
  11. Stafford County 130.4 (35)
  12. Page County 116.1 (36)

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 the heat season in Virginia?

67% of its heat records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (650 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 54 · Feb 10 · Mar 48 · Apr 2 · May 90 · Jun 228 · Jul 650 · Aug 242 · Sep 11 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 4 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest heat records in Virginia?

Virginia: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2018-05-10 HeatChesterfield County and Colonial Heights (city) · forecast zone Eastern Chesterfield Two 6 month old infants were left in a hot vehicle at the 2400 block of Alfalfa Lane, near Jefferson Davis Highway just south of Richmond Virginia. They were transported to a hospital. One died almost immediately, while the other was initially in critical condition, but then later died. 2 0 –
1999-07-04 HeatRockingham County · forecast zone Rockingham / Harrisonburg One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. High pressure sat off the Mid-Atlantic coast from the 4th through the 7th, acting like a heat pump drawing extremely warm and humid air into Northern Virginia. Temperatures on the 4th through early on the 7th were oppressively hot, and extremely humid conditions added to the misery. These conditions continued until a ... 1 80 –
2012-07-01 HeatBedford County · forecast zone Bedford One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A ridge of high pressure dominated the central and eastern U.S. the last few days of June and into the 1st of July. Records too numerous to mention were broken and in some cases, smashed throughout the eastern half of the nation, many of them all-time records not simply date records. See June Storm Data for the June ... 1 6 –
2014-08-31 HeatRoanoke County · forecast zone Roanoke The Roanoke Times reported that a 2-year old girl was found dead on September 1st after being left in a parked, closed van in southeast Roanoke. The high temperatures on the 31st reached 90 degrees for the first time during the month of August 2014. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene and apparently had died the ... 1 0 –
2011-06-21 HeatPittsylvania County · forecast zone Pittsylvania One female adult, one female toddler, and one male infant were found passed out in an enclosed car in Danville on a day when the heat index reached the middle 90s. All passengers were taken to hospitals. The two females survived but the male infant died four days later. 1 0 –
2025-07-31 HeatAmherst County · forecast zone Amherst A one-year-old boy, who would have turned two years old in two days, was left alone and restrained in the back seat of a car in Madison Heights of Amherst County while the foster dad of this child was at work for eight hours. Temperatures rose into the upper 80s by midday with the nearby Lynchburg ASOS reaching a high ... 1 0 –
2008-06-08 Excessive HeatArlington County and 3 more · forecast zone Arlington Alexandria Emergency Management and local newspapers reported that one person died from heat-related complications in Alexandria. 1 0 –
2005-07-18 HeatPrince William County · forecast zone Prince William A 60-year old man was killed due to excessive heat. The individual was a construction worker and was working on a paving project. 1 0 –
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 –

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.

Are heat records 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.

Heat: Virginia and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeVirginiaUnited StatesVirginia's share
1996-992324,3555.3%
2000s3829,1634.2%
2010s51216,4453.1%
2020-2621326,7960.8%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent heat records in Virginia

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-07-31 HeatAmherst County · forecast zone Amherst 1 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatHampton (city) · forecast zone Hampton/Poquoson 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatYork County and Poquoson (city) · forecast zone York 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatNewport News (city) · forecast zone Newport News 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatJames City County and Williamsburg (city) · forecast zone James City 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatMiddlesex County · forecast zone Middlesex 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatGloucester County · forecast zone Gloucester 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatNew Kent County · forecast zone New Kent 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatColonial Heights (city) · forecast zone Eastern Chesterfield 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatCharles City County · forecast zone Charles City 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatBrunswick County · forecast zone Brunswick 0 0 –
2025-07-27 Excessive HeatSouthampton County and Franklin (city) · forecast zone Southampton 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.

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