Franklin city

Every recorded tornado

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

Costliest events since 1996

1. Oct 7, 2006Flash Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads closed. The Blackwater River flooded much of downtown Franklin where numerous businesses and residences sustained water damage.

2. Oct 8, 2016Flood$450,000
   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. Aug 20, 2019Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive wind damage was reported throughout the city of Franklin. Approximately 40 homes were damaged in an area around Clay Street, High Street, and 4th Avenue. Wind damage was likely due to a downburst. Numerous power outages were also reported.

4. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Southampton$100,000
   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 significant crop damage. Storm total rainfall generally ranged from six to eleven inches.

5. Jan 25, 2010Strong Wind, Southampton$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency Manager and Local Television reported one smoke stack at the Franklin Paper Mill collapsed onto another plant building. Wind gust of 38 knots (44 mph) was recorded at FKN around the time of the event.

6. Feb 13, 2021Winter Weather, Southampton$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Light freezing rain or freezing drizzle resulted in ice accretion between a trace and 0.20 inch across the county. A few trees and power lines were downed, with scattered power outages reported due to the ice accretion.

7. Feb 18, 2021Winter Weather, Southampton$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice accretions between a trace and 0.20 inch were reported. A few trees and power lines were downed, with some scattered power outages reported.

8. May 22, 2025Hail$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported 1.75 inch diameter at The Serve restaurant in Downtown Franklin. A few vehicles also received minor damage from the hail.

9. Feb 6, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were uprooted or snapped. Roof was blown off.

10. Jul 10, 2014Hail$5,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail, and one weak tornado across portions of south central and southeast Virginia. Scattered thunderstorms also produced heavy rain which caused some minor flooding.

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°F2 times, most recently Jun 18, 2004

All-time low

−5°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

84°FJul 29, 2002

Coldest day

15°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

10.98 inAug 27, 2011

Snowiest day

17.0 inFeb 6, 1980

Hottest year

1998mean 62.1°F

Coldest year

1958mean 56.9°F

Wettest year

199970.68 in

Driest year

198629.09 in

Snowiest season

43.0 in1979-80

Station Suffolk Lake Kilby (USC00448192), 22 ft elevation, 18.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1945 to October 21, 2026; 99.1% 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 USC00448192.
• 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.