Craig County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$436,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds downed thousands of trees and many power lines. A few barns were damaged, and a porch was destroyed along Route 42. Several vehicles were damaged when trees fell on them. Damage values are estimated.

2. Jan 19, 1996Flash Flood$150,000
3. May 20, 2020Heavy Rain$127,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The COOP station at New Castle (NWCV2) had a 2-day rainfall total of 4.77 inches ending at 700 AM EST on the 22nd which was a record for the month of May and 9th highest for any 2-day period. For the 3-day period ending the same day, the station recorded 6.12 inches, the highest ever for May and 4th highest for any 3-day period. The 3-day total was in 90 confidence interval (5.65-6.63 inches) for a 25-year rainfall event (.04 annual chance of occurrence). Extensive road damage was reported by VDOT in the County.

4. Apr 15, 2018Tornado$124,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado briefly touched down just south of Hawkins Lane and headed northward at 4:03 PM EST. It crossed Hawkins Lane and Wild Cat Hollow Road before lifting at 4:04 PM EST. The tornado caused considerable damage to trees, homes, and outbuildings. Six homes had roof shingles and vinyl siding ripped off by the tornado. Several outbuildings and garages were destroyed. The tornado also flipped one truck upside down on to another damaged vehicle, and it also lofted small debris over 100 yards. The estimated maximum winds were 105 MPH.

5. Sep 27, 2024High Wind, Craig$110,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were downed across the county due to high winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene, especially on Routes 621, 42, and 658. A large swath of trees were also downed near Sugar Maple Road. Over 3,200 customers were reported without power at the peak of the high winds, by mid afternoon on Friday. A peak wind speed of 68 mph was measured. There was one confirmed fatality, a woman was killed when a chicken coop that was lofted by the high winds hit her. A deputy was also injured at the scene. Total losses from agriculture damages were around $85,000, including losses from crops and structures.

6. Jun 16, 2025Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Virginia Department of Transportation was dispatched to Caldwell Mountain Road to address damage caused to the road due to flash flooding. The road was rendered impassible until repairs could be completed.

7. May 20, 2020Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Craig Creek at Abbott (ABBV2) IFLOWS gage crested at 10.6 feet around midday on May 21st. This was the 3rd highest crest in the fairly short (since around 2010) and erratic history at this gage site. Some roads were flooded and partially damaged Craig County according to VDOT information.

8. May 9, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours on the 9th produced hail up to golf ball size, damaging winds, and dangerous lightning.A severe thunderstorm during the afternoon of the 9th tracked from about 7 miles northeast of Centenery to 7 miles east northeast of Dillwyn. At times the damage path was 2 miles wide with sporadic damage to buildings and 3 comercial chicken houses destroyed. Numerous large trees were downed and uprooted along the path of the storm. In addition to the damaging winds, this storm also produced golf ball size hail along it's track. A fatality also occured when a tree was toppled onto a house in Arvonia.Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees in…

9. Feb 22, 2003Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain over a long period of time caused small stream and urban flooding. A man who had been rescued once from the North Fork of the Roanoke River, returned to his truck with his father, and attempted to recover items from the truck. They remained trapped in the flood waters for several hours. The son died later that night in the hospital from hypothermia. Small stream and urban flooding was also reported across Botetourt, Pulaski, Patrick, Smyth, Rockbridge, Tazewell, Campbell, Franklin, Alleghany, Craig, Bland, Floyd, Amherst, and Roanoke counties. One man was killed when he tried to cross a low water bridge over Tinker Creek in Vinton. He was swept about 200 feet downstream…

10. Feb 11, 2025Winter Storm, Craig$45,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Up to 6.5 inches of snow fell across Craig County from February 11 through February 12. A quarter of an inch of ice accumulation was also observed near Simmonsville. Over 1200 customers had lost power by 5 AM on February 13. Key Impacts: power outages, downed trees, road closures.

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°FSep 9, 1985

All-time low

−34°FDec 30, 1917

Warmest night

78°FJul 27, 1897

Coldest day

3°F2 times, most recently Jan 16, 1994

Wettest day

8.29 inJun 24, 2016

Snowiest day

16.5 inDec 10, 2018

Hottest year

1973mean 55.3°F

Coldest year

1996mean 49.2°F

Wettest year

197256.18 in

Driest year

193015.88 in

Snowiest season

62.1 in1946-47

Station White Sulphur Springs (USC00469522), 1,919 ft elevation, 22.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1895 to October 23, 2026; 97.7% 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 USC00469522.
• 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.