Emporia city

Every recorded tornado

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

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Greensville$219,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force winds knocked down several trees and power lines, as well as caused some structural damage. In addition, heavy rains contributed to minor crop damage. Storm total rainfall generally ranged from five to eight inches.

2. Oct 8, 2016Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused an extended period of significant flooding across much of the city. Numerous roads were impassable or closed for several days, and many homes and businesses were impacted.

3. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$195,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain from Hurricane Floyd produced widespread flooding and flash flooding across much of central and eastern Virginia, and northeast North Carolina. Rainfall amounts generally ranged from near 7 inches from eastern Caroline county to Richmond City to Brunswick, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg counties, to 12 to 18 inches in much of the Virginia Tidewater. Numerous roads were washed out due to flooding. Many areas normally prone only to flooding of poor drainage and low lying areas experienced significant flash flooding. Primary routes out of service included US 460 near Wakefield, US 58 near Emporia and Franklin, and Interstate 95 south of Petersburg to Emporia. River…

4. Apr 19, 2019Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near the intersection of Brink Road and Collins Road, about 3 miles southwest of Emporia, VA in Greensville County. The tornado snapped trees and did damage to a couple of outbuildings along its path. Minor damage also occurred at a shopping center in Emporia. The tornado lifted just north of town.

5. Feb 13, 2021Ice Storm, Greensville$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain or freezing drizzle resulted in significant ice accretion between 0.25 inch and 0.35 inch across the county. Numerous trees and power lines were downed, with widespread power outages reported due to the ice accretion.

6. Feb 18, 2021Winter Storm, Greensville$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice accretions between 0.20 inch and 0.25 inch were reported. Several trees and power lines were downed, with numerous power outages reported.

7. May 11, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   LARGE TREE BLOWN ONTO CAR ON I-95. ROOF OF BUILDING BEHIND POLICE STATION WAS PARTIALLY DAMAGED. ALSO, SEVERAL TREES DOWNED ACROSS OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.

8. Jul 24, 2000Flash Flood$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain fell in Emporia, where 5.70 inches of rain was measured. Several residents were evacuated on Reese Street at Metcalf Branch. Standing high water was common in Emporia, with water above car doors on Market and Brink Roads.

9. Jul 18, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were downed across the City of Emporia. Several roads were blocked and power lines were downed.

10. Apr 20, 2009Hail$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Ping Pong ball size hail was reported. General Motors dealership had hail damage to 164 cars and trucks.

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

109°FJul 30, 1893

All-time low

−24°FJan 17, 1893

Warmest night

88°F3 times, most recently Jun 25, 2016

Coldest day

13°FDec 26, 1983

Wettest day

7.40 inSep 19, 2003

Snowiest day

14.2 inJan 24, 1940

Hottest year

2020mean 61.5°F

Coldest year

1988mean 56.0°F

Wettest year

202063.44 in

Driest year

196524.92 in

Snowiest season

29.8 in1979-80

Station Emporia 1 Wnw (USC00442790), 100 ft elevation, 1.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 23, 2026; 92.4% 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 USC00442790.
• 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.