Richmond

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.

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 Richmond city, the county that contains Richmond.

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.

River crests

River gauges in Richmond city, the county that contains Richmond.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

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

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. Aug 30, 2004Flash Flood$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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 damage after floodwaters reached depths of up to 10 feet.

2. Oct 27, 2010Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado downed trees and power lines, and produced some siding and roof damage to homes. Many structures sustained damage from the tornado, with the most significant damage occurring as a result of trees and/or large branches falling on homes. Several homes were declared uninhabitable as a result. Most of the damage was EF0 in intensity, with a few areas in the western half of the tornado path reaching low end EF1 intensity. Maximum wind speeds were estimated around 90 mph. The tornado moved from the City of Richmond into Henrico County.

3. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$176,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain from Hurricane Floyd produced widespread flooding and flash flooding across much of central and eastern Virginia, and northeast North Carolina. Rainfall amounts generally ranged from near 7 inches from eastern Caroline county to Richmond City to Brunswick, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg counties, to 12 to 18 inches in much of the Virginia Tidewater. Numerous roads were washed out due to flooding. Many areas normally prone only to flooding of poor drainage and low lying areas experienced significant flash flooding. Primary routes out of service included US 460 near Wakefield, US 58 near Emporia and Franklin, and Interstate 95 south of Petersburg to Emporia. River…

4. Feb 13, 2021Ice Storm, Western Henrico$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain or freezing drizzle resulted in significant ice accretion between 0.25 inch and 0.40 inch across the county. Numerous trees and power lines were downed, with widespread power outages reported due to the ice accretion.

5. Feb 18, 2021Winter Storm, Western Henrico$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice accretions between 0.20 inch and 0.30 inch, along with sleet accumulations between 0.5 inch and 1.0 inch were reported. Several trees and power lines were downed, with numerous power outages reported.

6. Jun 28, 2026Flash Flood$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Fat Dragon Chinese Kitchen and Bar was closed due to flooding inside the building.

7. Sep 23, 2003Tornado$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   F1 tornado damaged several homes between Azalea and Wilmer Avenues. Trees uprooted and shed overturned.

8. Mar 2, 2018High Wind, Western Henrico$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The very strong winds downed trees and caused power outages.

9. Sep 7, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant tree damage was reported across the northern portion of the area in particular with multiple trees downed into houses. In addition, numerous power outages were reported.

10. Sep 17, 2018Tornado$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An EF1 tornado touched down in the Stony Point area of the City of Richmond just south of West Huguenot Road. The tornado then tracked northward into Tuckahoe before lifting just south of Three Chopt Road. Numerous trees were downed or snapped with air conditioning units blown off the West End Church near West Parham Road.

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°F3 times, most recently Jul 25, 2010

All-time low

−12°FJan 29, 1940

Warmest night

81°FJul 12, 2011

Coldest day

12°F2 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Wettest day

8.79 inAug 12, 1955

Snowiest day

19.9 inJan 24, 1940

Hottest year

2024mean 61.8°F

Coldest year

1940mean 55.0°F

Wettest year

201863.73 in

Driest year

194122.91 in

Snowiest season

38.9 in1961-62

Station Richmond International Airport (USW00013740), 166 ft elevation, 8.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1939 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 Richmond 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 USW00013740.
• 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.