Virginia hurricanes and tropical storms
Every recorded hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996 · 88 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 308 hurricane and tropical storm records in Virginia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 19 a year since 2000. The deadliest was Hurricane Isabel (September 18, 2003): 7 deaths, 29 injuries and $1.0 billion in damage in 2025 dollars across 33 records. Virginia ranks 10th of 34 states and territories by count and 15th of 33 per square mile.
Hurricanes and tropical storms in Virginia, 1996 to 2026
Tropical 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
- 3081996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 19average
- Deaths
- 1234 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $1.4Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 200373 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 hurricane and tropical storm records common in Virginia?
Virginia averages about 19 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 10th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2003 (73). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Virginia records 78 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 15th of 33 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 hurricane and tropical storm records?
Per square mile, York County leads Virginia: 13 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 124.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Chesapeake (city) has the most tropical records (27 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 hurricane season in Virginia?
85% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is September (174 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 7 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 20 · Aug 87 · Sep 174 · Oct 20 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest hurricane and tropical storm records in Virginia?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-09-18 | Hurricane Isabel · Tropical StormHenrico County and Richmond (city) · forecast zone Henrico One named storm filed by several offices: 33 records in 5 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Tropical Storm Isabel produced tropical storm force sustained winds and wind gusts over the piedmont of central and south central Virginia, as it crossed the Wakefield WFO county warning area. Isabel made landfall near Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina, tracked northwest into central Virginia just west of Richmond, ... | 7 | 29 | $1.0B | |
| 2011-08-27 | Hurricane Irene · Tropical StormBrunswick County · forecast zone Brunswick One named storm filed by several offices: 30 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Hurricane Irene moving northward over the outer banks of North Carolina and just off the Virginia and Maryland coasts produced tropical storm force winds across portions of central and south central Virginia from Saturday morning, August 27th into Sunday morning, August 28th. | 3 | 1 | $90M | |
| 1999-09-15 | Hurricane Floyd · Hurricane (Typhoon)Accomack County · forecast zone Accomack One named storm filed by several offices: 16 records in 2 episodes, 1999-09-15 to 1999-09-16; the totals are the storm's. Hurricane Floyd was a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the Wakefield WFO county warning area. Sustained tropical storm force winds with gusts to near hurricane force occurred over the northwest quadrant of the storm over interior portions of northeast North Carolina and along the coastal waters of the Wakefield ... | 2 | 0 | $251M |
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 hurricane and tropical storm records in Virginia
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-09-18 | Hurricane Isabel · Tropical StormHenrico County and Richmond (city) · forecast zone Henrico One named storm filed by several offices: 33 records in 5 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 7 | 29 | $1.0B | |
| 1999-09-15 | Hurricane Floyd · Hurricane (Typhoon)Accomack County · forecast zone Accomack One named storm filed by several offices: 16 records in 2 episodes, 1999-09-15 to 1999-09-16; the totals are the storm's. | 2 | 0 | $251M | |
| 2011-08-27 | Hurricane Irene · Tropical StormBrunswick County · forecast zone Brunswick One named storm filed by several offices: 30 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 3 | 1 | $90M | |
| 1998-08-26 | Hurricane Bonnie · Hurricane (Typhoon)Virginia Beach (city) · forecast zone Virginia Beach One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 4 | $48M | |
| 1996-09-06 | Hurricane Fran · Storm Surge/TideAlong Potomac River, Prince William County One named storm filed by several offices: 3 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 0 | $1.9M | |
| 1996-09-06 | Storm Surge/TideAlong Potomac River, Arlington County | 0 | 0 | $941K | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormAccomack County · forecast zone Accomack One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $855K | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormKing George County · forecast zone King George | 0 | 0 | $570K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are hurricane and tropical storm 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.
| Decade | Virginia | United States | Virginia's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 57 | 1,123 | 5.1% |
| 2000s | 103 | 4,928 | 2.1% |
| 2010s | 88 | 2,761 | 3.2% |
| 2020-26 | 60 | 2,697 | 2.2% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in Virginia
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-21 | Tropical StormNorfolk (city) and Portsmouth (city) · forecast zone Norfolk | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-21 | Tropical StormVirginia Beach (city) · forecast zone Virginia Beach | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormKing George County · forecast zone King George | 0 | 0 | $570K | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormNorthampton County · forecast zone Northampton | 0 | 0 | $285K | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormChesapeake (city) · forecast zone Chesapeake | 0 | 0 | $285K | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormAccomack County · forecast zone Accomack | 0 | 0 | $285K | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormSussex County · forecast zone Sussex | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormSurry County · forecast zone Surry | 0 | 0 | $1.4M | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormSouthampton County · forecast zone Southampton | 0 | 0 | $9.3M | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormRichmond County · forecast zone Richmond | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormPrince George County and Petersburg (city) · forecast zone Prince George | 0 | 0 | $6.6M | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormKing William County · forecast zone King William | 0 | 0 | $2.4M |
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 hurricane and tropical storm records in Virginia
FEMA has declared 21 disasters in Virginia for hurricane and tropical storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name hurricane or tropical storm or typhoon in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 15 were major disasters, the latest on October 1, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-01 | DR-4831 | Tropical Storm Helene | 37 |
| 2024-09-29 | EM-3621 | Post-Tropical Cyclone Helene | 24 |
| 2018-12-18 | DR-4411 | Tropical Storm Michael | 36 |
| 2018-10-15 | DR-4401 | Hurricane Florence | 32 |
| 2018-09-11 | EM-3403 | Hurricane Florence | 134 |
| 2016-11-02 | DR-4291 | Hurricane Matthew | 10 |
| 2012-11-26 | DR-4092 | Hurricane Sandy | 29 |
| 2012-10-29 | EM-3359 | Hurricane Sandy | 136 |
| 2011-11-17 | DR-4045 | The Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee | 8 |
| 2011-09-03 | DR-4024 | Hurricane Irene | 48 |
| 2011-08-26 | EM-3329 | Hurricane Irene | 30 |
| 2005-09-12 | EM-3240 | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | 134 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- York County: the county's whole recordThe Virginia county with the most hurricane and tropical storm records per square mile
- Hurricanes and tropical storms 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
- Floods in Virginia8,165 records