Dickenson County

Every recorded tornado

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

Mapped landslides

Mapped by USGS Conterminous (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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 18, 2009Heavy Snow, Dickenson$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ten single family homes had major damage in Dickenson County, while 17 homes had minor damage. Two mobile homes were destroyed.

2. Jan 27, 1998Heavy Snow, Dickenson$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A surprise heavy wet snow fell from the late morning hours of Tuesday the 27th, to the predawn hours of Wednesday the 28th. Since the environment was near near the freezing mark through a deep layer, a wide variation in snow depths were seen. The variation was based on elevation. At elevations about 2000 feet, 20 to 30 inches of snow was deposited. Meanwhile, in the river valleys and hollows, snow depths of 8 to 15 inches were measured. Grundy and Clintwood both reported 8 inches on the ground. The Breaks Interstate Park had 17 inches. The melted down water amount was 2.5 inches at Grundy. The heaviest snow fell late in the afternoon and during the evening. Lightning and thunder…

3. Oct 29, 2012Heavy Snow, Dickenson$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A rare consolidation of a strong mid and upper level trough in the polar jet with a tropical hurricane named Sandy resulted in a historical snow storm for the month of October. ||Periods of rain fell from late on the 27th into the 28th, as a cold front moved east. In response to the colder air associated with the polar jet and the strengthening mid level trough, light rain changed to the first snowflakes around 0000E to 0200E on Monday the 29th. This was only across the high terrain of southwest Virginia northward into the mountainous counties of central West Virginia. For example, the ground was white by dawn on the mountaintops near Nora. However, little accumulations were seen…

4. Aug 13, 2001Flash Flood$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Downpours from thunderstorms occurred between 0145 and 0300E over the western and southern portion of the county. Rains of 2.5 to 4 inches fell over saturated terrain. Clintwood measured 2.9 inches, most of which fell in 90 minutes. The heaviest amounts were likely along the Wise County border. The hardest hit region was around Clintwood, Georges Fork, and Darwin. This included such small streams as Lick Fork, Long Fork, Georges Fork, and Holly Creek. Flooded homes and vehicles, washed out roads and bridges, downed power lines, and uprooted trees were common reports. The owner of the general store in Darwin reportedly said the flood damage was the worst in the 100 year history of…

5. Jul 26, 2001Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rains of 2.5 to 4 inches were common in 12 hours, with isolated amounts of 4 to 6 inches. The cooperative observer at John Flannagan Lake measured 4 inches. Birch Gap, along the Kentucky border, measured 5.9 inches, Clincho 5.1 inches, and Nealy Ridge 4.8 inches. Clintwood had 2.9 inches of rain. The sheriff reported flooding along Route 80, plus around Haysi.

6. Jul 28, 1997Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches in 1 to 2 hours on the western slopes of the Ohio-Tennessee River divide, flooded Lick Fork, Fryingpan Creek and Indian Creek. Sullivan Branch washed out sections of Route 688 near Duty. Around 40 families were either flooded or isolated by the flood waters. County officials reported 14 small private bridges were destroyed.

7. Mar 17, 2002Flood, Dickenson$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dickenson County was on the northern fringe of an area of heavy rain that hit Tennessee, southeast Kentucky, and southwest Virginia late on Sunday the 17th and into the early morning hours of Monday the 18th. Rains of 2.5 to 3.5 inches fell over the southern portion of the county in less than 24 hours. An automated rain gauge near Herald measured 3.1 inches, while one gauge near Trammel had 2.8 inches. The cooperative observer at Clintwood had 2.6 inches. Earlier rains, on the 16th into the 17th, helped moisten the ground, prior to this event. The McClure River and its tributaries flooded roads. On the order of 20 to 30 people were evacuated as a precaution. Most of these…

8. Feb 15, 2003Flood, Dickenson$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two day rain totals of 3 to 4.5 inches accumulated from the 14th into the 16th. Grundy had 4.3 inches, Hurley had 3.7 inches, and Clintwood measured 3.3 inches. Small streams flooded or washed out roads late on the 15th into the 16th. Mud slides occurred on steep slopes. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management reported 35 homes and 20 businesses had major damage in Buchanan County. The town manager of Grundy said water had seeped under the floors of the police department and a lot of mud was in the basement below the town offices. Hurley High School also reported some damage. A federal disaster was declared, that included these 2 Virginia Counties. See FEMA disaster…

9. Feb 10, 2018Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water from flooding along Crooked Branch got into Dyers Chapel near Clinchco, and covered some equipment at a nearby well services business. Several drivers had to be rescued after driving into high water near Haysi. At least 8 people had to be rescued throughout the night, but fortunately there were no injuries. Social media pictures showed a number of vehicles parked in private driveways were flooded. ||An earthen dam failed at Camp Jacob in the far southwest corner of the county, draining the nearly 10 acre lake and causing significant damage to the camp.||Many roads were flooded across the county. This included US Route 460, due to high water along Levisa Fork and Slate Creek.…

10. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees and large branches were blown down in scattered locations about the county. Electricity was lost to around 800 customers.

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

97°F2 times, most recently Jul 1, 2012

All-time low

−23°F3 times, most recently Feb 21, 2015

Warmest night

71°FJul 22, 2011

Coldest day

7°F2 times, most recently Dec 24, 2022

Wettest day

4.28 inJul 28, 2022

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 13, 2014

Hottest year

2019mean 54.2°F

Coldest year

1996mean 50.7°F

Wettest year

202069.94 in

Driest year

200732.91 in

Snowiest season

90.0 in1995-96

Station Clintwood 1W (USC00441825), 1,566 ft elevation, 6.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1993 to October 18, 2026; 99.3% 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 USC00441825.
• 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.