Radford

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 Radford city, the county that contains Radford.

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 Radford city, the county that contains Radford.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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. Jan 31, 2013Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   About 100 cars were partially or completely submerged at the Dedmon Center parking lot at Radford University when the New River overflowed its banks. Flooding on the New River was aggravated by water releases at Claytor Lake Dam which took place after midnight on January 31st. It is estimated that the New River near the Dedmon Center rose nine feet in one hour between 2:30 AM and 3:30 AM.

2. Sep 27, 2024High Wind, Pulaski$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were downed across the county by high winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene, several of which landed across roads and made them impassable, such as on Little Creek Road. Over 3,100 customers were reported without power by 2 PM on Friday. Around $450,000 in losses were sustained in the agriculture industry, including losses to crops, as well as facilities, structures, and land in Pulaski County and the City of Radford.

3. Jan 12, 2019Winter Storm, Pulaski$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A winter storm brought mainly freezing rain conditions, where ice accumulations ranged from 0.2 to 0.3 inches thick across most of the county. Snow was also observed, with accumulations reaching nearly an inch. The icy conditions resulted in an auto accident on Interstate 81 southbound, not far from the intersection with Interstate 77. The accident involved three tractor-trailers, where one person was killed and two others were injured.

4. Aug 12, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees and tree limbs throughout the city of Radford. Trees knocked down a dozen power poles in the city, including near the intersection of Auburn Avenue and Vienna Avenue.

5. Aug 30, 2018Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding closed several streets in Radford with water over 2 feet deep reported on 2nd Street. In addition, up to 15 building on the Radford University campus had some water damage, with 12 of those described as significant damage. Two roads in Radford were also damaged, Wadsworth and Fairfax Streets.

6. Dec 30, 2016Winter Weather, Pulaski$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Slick road indirectly contributed to a tractor-trailer accident near mile marker 105. The accident resulted in both southbound lanes being blocked, and at one point, a six-mile long backup of traffic. Damage values are estimated.

7. Apr 2, 2016High Wind, Pulaski$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were blown down by high winds across the county.

8. Apr 1, 2023High Wind, Pulaski$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds gusts downed trees throughout the county. One fallen tree blocked Belspring Road in Fairlawn for a time. Almost 3,000 customers lost power. Damage values are estimated.

9. Mar 5, 2025High Wind, Pulaski$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds completely blew off a roof from a farm structure and also caused significant roof damage to a house. In addition, the winds snapped or blew down several trees.

10. Oct 30, 2012High Wind, Pulaski$18,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A few large trees and power lines were downed by high winds in the Draper area. Damage values are estimated.

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

99°F2 times, most recently Aug 23, 1983

All-time low

−18°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

72°F2 times, most recently Jul 13, 2011

Coldest day

2°FJan 28, 1986

Wettest day

4.44 inSep 22, 2021

Snowiest day

20.4 inJan 28, 1998

Hottest year

1953mean 55.2°F

Coldest year

1968mean 49.7°F

Wettest year

202059.48 in

Driest year

196326.95 in

Snowiest season

67.4 in1995-96

Station Blacksburg Nwso (USC00440766), 2,103 ft elevation, 9.9 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1952 to October 28, 2026; 99.4% 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 Radford 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 USC00440766.
• 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.