Albemarle County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Albemarle County: 11.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Nov 17, 2019Winter Weather, Central Virginia Blue Ridge$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 4:37 AM EST this morning on I-64 at mile marker 100 (near summit of Afton Mountain/Blue Ridge; approximately 4 miles SE Waynesboro, VA), a tractor trailer lost control and overturned. A tour bus was unable to stop and impacted the truck. Several other minor accidents ensued. The culprit is likely black ice due to freezing drizzle. EM confirmed 21 transports to hospitals, with injuries ranging from minor to serious.

2. Aug 30, 2005Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The National Weather Service surveyed wind damage in western Albemarle county near Doylesville. About 2 dozen large hardwood trees were topped or blown over on an estate off Via Lane (Route 672). The tornado touched down as the storm passed near the southeast part of Pasture Fence Mountain. The most intense tree damage (and a small portion of a fence) was along a small stream that ran through Crosscreek Farm. A resident of the farm observed the tornado, commenting on the large number of large, topped hardwood tree debris swirling overhead, up to an altitude upwards of 300 feet. The tornado lifted after it had crossed Via Lane after striking the farm. This tornado has been rated an…

3. Jul 4, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were down around Charlottesville and Albemarle County. The hardest hit areas were across Charlottesville as well as the eastern part of the county. There were about five reports of trees falling onto houses as well.

4. Aug 14, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A couple hundred trees blew down in and around Crozet. A large tree blew down at a residence near the intersection of Millstream Drive and Millburn Court. Wires blew down near the intersection of VA-810 White Hall Road and Rockery Place. Dozens of trees blew down along US-250 Rockfish Gap Turnpike near I-64. The roof of a 3-story building under construction was blown off causing the top floor walls to collapse in the 1000 block of Heathercroft Lane. Some homes in the area lost shingles, siding, and had porch railing damage.

5. May 13, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several trees were downed and some structures were damaged along the Route 250 corridor.

6. Jul 28, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread tree and power line damage was reported in Scottsville. Many homes had shingles and siding removed. Several power poles were snapped as a result of falling trees, and several cars were damaged by wind driven hail or falling trees. Part of a gas station lost pieces of its awning and roof.

7. Sep 6, 1996Flash Flood$120,000
8. Aug 7, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dozens of trees, branches and wires blew down in Earlysville, blocking several roads.

9. Jul 4, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dozens of trees and wires blew down widespread across eastern Albemarle County. 37 percent of the City of Charlottesville lost power.

10. Jun 24, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tree was blown down onto a one story house causing significant damage.

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

106°FJul 8, 2012

All-time low

−6°FJan 17, 1982

Warmest night

88°FJul 21, 1957

Coldest day

10°FFeb 18, 1979

Wettest day

9.21 inOct 5, 1972

Snowiest day

11.0 inJan 29, 1966

Hottest year

2023mean 60.7°F

Coldest year

1967mean 54.9°F

Wettest year

200368.68 in

Driest year

198814.90 in

Station Charlottesville Albemarle Airport (USW00093736), 631 ft elevation, 6.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1955 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00093736.
• 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.