Franklin County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Franklin 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 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. May 21, 2020Flood$2.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Local news reports said many roads were flooded and damaged across Franklin County. Several were closed due to large mudslides, including Five Mile Mountain Road in southern Franklin near the Floyd County line. A section of Virginia 116 (Jubal Early Highway) in the Coopers Cove area was as the road collapsed in the early morning hours on May 22 during prolonged rainfall, according to VDOT officials. VDOT estimated that repairs would take approximately one to two months before the road can reopen to traffic. Dozens of other roads were closed at various times due to flooding.

2. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew numerous trees down across the county. A mobile home suffered major damage as a fallen tree split the structure in half. Several other homes across the northern part of the county suffered minor to moderate damage from fallen trees in the Boones Mill to Burnt Chimney and Smith Mountain Lake areas. A firefighter was initially injured by a falling tree while responding to a call in his vehicle. The individual later died as a result of the injuries. Damage values are estimated.

3. Apr 19, 2019Tornado$650,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down just to the north of Oak Level. It then moved northeastward, significantly damaging three structures while heavily damaging or destroying ten outbuildings. The tornado reached a peak intensity of EF-3 near Windy Ridge Road and again near Sealtest Lane. The tornado eventually dissipated to the east of Henry Fork, four miles southeast of Rocky Mount, just short of Doe Run Road. Two individuals received minor injuries due to the tornado. One of the fallen trees landed on a house and a car. Damage values are estimated.

4. Jun 13, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$650,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An isolated thunderstorm on the afternoon of the 13th downed numerous trees, power lines and power poles, and damaged numerous houses Near Smith Mountain Lake, 14 miles to 15 miles east of Rocky Mt.

5. Jul 2, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
6. Sep 6, 1996Flash Flood$500,000
7. Jun 25, 1997Lightning$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds during the afternoon hours on the 25th produced hail up to dime size and damaging lightning.Lightning started a fire in a house and a boat dock on Smith Mountain Lake about five miles north of Union Hall. A total of 11 watercraft and one boat house were destroyed. Lightning started a fire that destroyed a barn and killed five horses four miles south-southwest of Shelors Mill. Lightning started a fire in the attic of a house in Wirtz and in the bedroom of a house four miles west of Rocky Mount..

8. Sep 22, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm winds spun like a dervish and split a large tree in front of the Century 21 real estate office. Nearby a massive poplar tree fell on a house, destroyed a sports utility vehicle, and damaged another. Limbs from the downed tree pierced the roof of the house and came through the living room ceiling producing two large holes. Rainwater entered through the holes and soaked the wooden flooring and furniture inside. Damage values are estimated.

9. Oct 11, 2018Flash Flood$245,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Franklin County was included in a Presidential Major Disaster declaration due mainly to the severe flooding associated with Tropical Storm Michael. Rainfall of 3 to 6 inches occurred in several hours with flash flooding across much of the county. At least eight roads were reported blocked by flowing water across the county with significant damage to infrastructure.

10. May 14, 2012Flash Flood$190,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Extensive flooding was reported across northern and eastern Franklin County. The biggest problems were observed between Rocky Mount and Smith Mountain Lake. Nine vehicles were reported having been stranded in flood waters along Highway 122. Two sixty-inch culverts were washed out at the Windy Ridge Farm sub-division, leaving the community cut-off to outside access for the fifteen residents living there. Other roads sustained minor damage by flood waters. Rainfall amounts of eight to nine inches fell in the warned area, while amounts of 3 to 6 inches were more common in the surrounding areas.

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°F6 times, most recently Jul 28, 1936

All-time low

−11°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

90°FJul 20, 1901

Coldest day

5°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

7.45 inSep 8, 1987

Snowiest day

19.0 inJan 10, 1921

Hottest year

1913mean 60.1°F

Coldest year

1924mean 53.1°F

Wettest year

202077.22 in

Driest year

193029.09 in

Snowiest season

57.7 in1995-96

Station Rocky Mount (USC00447338), 1,315 ft elevation, 3.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1894 to October 23, 2026; 87.5% 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 USC00447338.
• 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.