Amelia County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Amelia County: 0.
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.

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. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, Amelia$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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, then continued northward into western Pennsylvania. The highest sustained wind speed recorded was 38 mph at Richmond International Airport. The highest gusts recorded were 73 mph at Richmond International Airport, 63 mph at WWBT-TV, and 53 mph at Chase City in Mecklenburg county. Approximately several thousand persons were evacuated and housed in numerous shelters across…

2. Oct 11, 2018Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down on Jennings Lane and traveled northwest where numerous trees were snapped and uprooted. Significant structural damage occurred to a 2 story home at the end of Jennings Lane. Significant uplift of the roof was noted along with the house slightly shifting on its foundation. A garage collapsed and an outbuilding was destroyed. Winds were rated around 110 mph. The tornado then lifted near the intersection of Namozine and Military Road.

3. Jan 6, 1996Winter Storm, Amelia$100,000
4. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were downed throughout the county and there were widespread power outages. Structural damage also occurred.

5. Feb 13, 2021Ice Storm, Amelia$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.

6. Jan 30, 2000Ice Storm, Amelia$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A significant ice storm affected portions of central and eastern Virginia with ice accumulations up to three-quarters of an inch. Precipitation began as a mixture of freezing rain, sleet, and snow, but then changed to all freezing rain during the morning hours. Freezing rain fell moderate to heavily at times. Tens of thousands of power outages were reported due to the weight of the ice snapping trees and power lines. Between 0.25 and 0.75 inches of ice were reported from Nottoway, Amelia, Powhatan, and Goochland counties.

7. Feb 18, 2021Winter Storm, Amelia$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.

8. Jan 12, 2018Tornado$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 tornado was confirmed in Amelia county. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off, an attached car port was destroyed with a vehicle damaged, and cement walls on an outbuilding were bowed out.

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

   F1 tornado on Route 614. Barn destroyed. Mobile home also destroyed and overturned several times.

10. May 9, 2003Tornado$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread major damage to trees and power lines, along with some structural damage by F1 tornado in Amelia county. One farm near the end of the tornado path suffered major damage to several barns and outbuildings.

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

103°F5 times, most recently Jun 30, 2012

All-time low

−13°F2 times, most recently Jan 8, 2018

Warmest night

78°F2 times, most recently Jul 26, 2010

Coldest day

13°F2 times, most recently Jan 20, 1994

Wettest day

5.91 inSep 19, 2003

Snowiest day

10.0 inFeb 11, 1983

Hottest year

2019mean 59.5°F

Coldest year

1988mean 53.4°F

Wettest year

200374.18 in

Driest year

198833.48 in

Snowiest season

37.0 in1979-80

Station Fort Pickett (USC00441322), 330 ft elevation, 21.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1972 to September 30, 2026; 96.5% 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 USC00441322.
• 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.