Danville city

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Oct 11, 2018Flash Flood$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Danville City was included in a Presidential Major Disaster declaration due mainly to the severe flooding associated with Tropical Storm Michael. Catastrophic flash flooding occurred across the City of Danville as extreme rains of 4 to 8 inches in several hours fell. Two people were killed in Danville after being were caught inside vehicles in the floodwaters and were pulled under rising waters as rescuers struggled to reach them. The first was 53-year old man that occurred at 500 PM local time in the 100 block of Colonial Court. The second occurred around 1020 PM on Goodyear Boulevard, as a 60-year old woman was trapped in her car in floodwaters and drowned. There were at least a…

2. Sep 3, 1996Flood, Pittsylvania$3.0 million
3. Sep 22, 2018Flash Flood$2.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were numerous reports of flash flooding in Danville. A home was collapsed on Mt. Carmel Baptist Street with the residents being rescued by boat. Another person was rescued from rising waters along Riverside Drive even as others passed through the floodwaters. Up to 69 vehicles were damaged or destroyed at Woodall Chevrolet in Danville along with some building damage as water from local runoff and possibly from an unnamed stream just to the west of the dealers rose. A nearby NAPA auto parts store was also flooded. Four vehicles were fully or partially submerged along Timberlake Drive and Northmont Boulevard with no injuries or rescues.

4. Apr 15, 2018Tornado$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is the second segment in Virginia of a tornado that originated west of Pelham near Dusty Lane in Caswell County of North Carolina at 4:51 PM EST. The tornado exited Pittsylvania County and entered into the independent city of Danville at 4:55 PM EST. The tornado damaged or destroyed numerous trees, and several outbuildings were completely destroyed. Minor roof damage occurred to numerous homes as the tornado crossed over the Westover area within the city limits of Danville. Private property damage was assessed at about $2.2 million, while utilities and public works cleanup added another $400,000. By 4:58 PM EST, the tornado exited the city and continued northward back into…

5. Sep 5, 1996High Wind, Pittsylvania$1.0 million
6. Aug 12, 2004Tornado$775,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A broken line of thunderstorms progressed out of NC into VA where it produced mainly straight line wind damage across Pittsylvania Co. and parts of the City of Danville. Damage included downed trees. The storm did spawn one F1 torando that touched down in western sections of Danville. The tornado severely damaged two commercial buildings and a greenhouse. Many trees were snapped or uprooted with several trees or large limbs on houses. There was one minor injury.A portion of this broken line of storms produced very heavy rainfall over the central portion of Pittsylvania Co resulting in flooding. Several roads were closed by VDOT and remained closed into the

7. Feb 12, 2014Winter Storm, Pittsylvania$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall amounts ranged from around 9 inches over the southern part of the county, including the City of Danville, to 14 inches across the northwest part. Sleet also fell and accumulated during the overnight period from the 12th into the 13th with amounts generally less than one-half inch. Freezing rain accretion up to one-tenth of an inch also occurred during this time period across the far eastern part of the county. A total of 34 vehicle accidents took place on snow and ice covered roads that caused indirect damage. The weight of the snow brought down a roof to an auto body shop in Danville the morning of February 14th. The downed roof also damaged a vehicle inside the…

8. Dec 9, 2018Winter Storm, Pittsylvania$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall accumulations ranged from 11.4 inches about three miles north-northwest of Ringgold to 17.4 inches at Chatham. Danville received 12.5 inches of snow, which is the second highest storm total in the month of December since records began in 1916. It is also the earliest in the winter season that an amount this high has ever been recorded. Also, the weight of the heavy snow collapsed the canopy of the Carrington Pavilion at Danville.

9. Mar 2, 2018High Wind, Pittsylvania$175,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds downed around 200 trees and fourteen power lines in the county, including parts of the City of Danville. Several roads were blocked for a few hours. One tree fell on a house in the 300 block of Greenwich Circle in the City of Danville. Damage values are estimated.

10. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, Pittsylvania / Danville$143,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    As Hurricane Isabel weakened to a tropical storm, winds were sustained during the mid afternoon and early evening at up to 50 to 60 mph with gusts near 70 mph. This produced widespread wind damage with numerous trees and power lines reported down.In Campbell County, 2 homes were destroyed and 10 homes suffered minor damage. In Amherst County, 1 residence suffered minor damage. In Appomattox County 1 home suffered major damage. In Buckingham County, 1 home was destroyed, 3 homes suffered major damage and 1 business suffered minor damage. In Charlotte County, 2 homes were destroyed, 30 homes suffered major damage, and 5 businesses suffered minor damage. Crop damage was also reported…

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°FSep 6, 1954

All-time low

−1°FJan 9, 2017

Warmest night

79°FJun 26, 1956

Coldest day

16°FFeb 17, 1958

Wettest day

6.00 inOct 11, 2018

Snowiest day

16.3 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

1949mean 60.3°F

Coldest year

1958mean 57.0°F

Wettest year

201867.61 in

Driest year

200125.51 in

Snowiest season

35.6 in1995-96

Station Danville Regional Airport (USW00013728), 552 ft elevation, 4.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1945 to October 26, 2026; 87.4% 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.

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 USW00013728.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.