Fairfax

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Fairfax city, the county that contains Fairfax.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

The drought index is for Fairfax city, the county that contains Fairfax.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, Fairfax$18.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On September 18, 2003, Hurricane Isabel made landfall on the North Carolina Coast. Its huge wind field was already piling water up into the southern Chesapeake Bay. By the time Isabel moved into central Virginia, it had weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm. Isabel's eye tracked well west of the bay, but the storm's 40 to 60 mph sustained winds pushed a bulge of water northward up the bay and its tributaries producing a record storm surge. The Virginia western shore counties of the Chesapeake Bay and the tidal tributaries of the Potomac, Rappahannock and other smaller rivers, experienced a storm surge which reached 5 to 9 feet above normal tides. In many locations,…

2. Apr 23, 1999Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of thunderstorms developed in West Virginia during the early afternoon and moved rapidly southeast across Northern Virginia. These storms produced very large hail in a 10 mile wide strip from Winchester in Frederick County to Woodbridge in Prince William County from 3:30 PM EDT to 5:00 PM EDT. Winds over 55 MPH also downed trees and power lines in Frederick and Clarke County between 3:30 PM EDT and 4:15 PM EDT. Frederick County spotters reported between 1 3/4 to 3 1/2 inch diameter hail. The rubber membrane roof of the War Memorial Building in Winchester was punctured by hail the size of golf balls, allowing heavy rain to fall inside the structure and cause significant…

3. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Fairfax$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   ***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 began during the flood/flash flood event along the headwaters of all basins and continued downstream through the 22nd. Crests ranged from 3 to 21 feet above flood stage.High water caused millions of dollars in damage, closed roads, destroyed homes and businesses, and forced the evacuation of several towns. Four people were rescued by the National Park Service and…

4. Nov 13, 2003Strong Wind, Fairfax$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front moved through the region early on the 13th, leaving behind frigid temperatures and strong winds. Widespread damage due to downed trees and power lines resulted. In Northern Virginia at least two people were injured. In Loudoun county, a student in Sterling was hit by a falling tree while waiting for the school bus, and a Leesburg man was struck by a large falling tree limb. A tractor trailer truck was overturned on Highway 81 in Shenandoah county. The driver was not injured. A poultry house was completely destroyed in Harrisonburg, and a bill board was blown down at the Winchester Regional Airport. At the height of the storm about 150,000 homes and business in…

5. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Fairfax$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts of 58-63 mph were measured at Ft. Belvoir. There were trees down county wide. Sixty houses were damaged due to fallen trees and eighteen of them were inhabitable. One tree fell into a retention pond at a water treatment plant that caused damage.

6. Sep 7, 1996Flood, Fairfax$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The rapid runoff produced by the heavy rains from Fran caused substantial, damaging, and in some cases record river flooding across much of the northern Virginia watershed from late on the 6th until early on the 10th. Flash flooding on the 6th rapidly became river flooding late on the 6th along the headwaters of the Potomac, Shenandoah, and Rappahannock River basins, and continued throughout the basins over the weekend and into early the following week. Crests at gaging points in these basins were similar to those in January 1996 across the Lower Main Stem of the Potomac. Levels were 1 to 5 feet higher across the Upper Main Stem Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. The Shenandoah…

7. Feb 12, 2006Heavy Snow, Fairfax$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A historic snowstorm occurred between February 11-12 across the Mid-Atlantic. Storm total snowfall across much of Northern and Central Virginia ranged generally between 8-14 inches. The highest snowfall totals occurred in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, where reports ranged up to 15 inches. There were also isolated reports of significant drifting of snow, mainly in and near Albemarle County. Finally, there were several instances of downed powerlines and trees due to the heavy snow. This caused significant power outages in some areas. Total power outages were reported to be around 300,000 customers around the Washington/Baltimore region. Amtrak reported major…

8. Mar 31, 1997Strong Wind, Fairfax$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A nor'easter, languishing off the middle Atlantic coast, produced sustained winds between 25 and 40 mph with gusts to 50 mph or higher over much of northern Virginia. The winds caused scattered damage to buildings under construction, roofs, and trees and power lines. In Fairfax Co (VAZ053), damage included a partial unroofing of the Pickwick shopping facility in Centreville. Several businesses were closed during the cleanup, with one of the businesses, a video store, condemned. In Vienna, two partially constructed town homes sustained damage. One of the homes was nearly destroyed, and the other had its top level collapse.There were several damage reports from Arlington Co…

9. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Fairfax$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   About 100 trees were down. Most of the damage was in Springfield, Merrifield, Kingtowne, Annandale, and McLean. Numerous roads were closed due to downed trees and power lines. About 81,000 power outages were reported.

10. Jan 14, 2006High Wind, Fairfax$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Very strong winds developed on the 14th due to a strengthening low pressure system off the Mid Atlantic Coast and a fast moving cold front that passed through the region early in the day. Widespread damages and power outages occurred, with newspaper reports indicating tens of thousands without power for an extended period of time.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

105°FJul 22, 2011

All-time low

−18°FJan 22, 1984

Warmest night

81°FJul 16, 2026

Coldest day

6°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

10.67 inJun 21, 1972

Snowiest day

22.5 inFeb 11, 1983

Hottest year

2024mean 58.9°F

Coldest year

1976mean 51.9°F

Wettest year

201866.74 in

Driest year

200727.02 in

Snowiest season

73.2 in2009-10

Station Washington Dulles International Airport (USW00093738), 294 ft elevation, 9.8 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1960 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Fairfax city.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00093738.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.