Giles County

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.

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 WV GS (5), NASA (3).

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. Sep 27, 2024High Wind, Giles$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were downed by high winds associated with the remnants Hurricane Helene. Over 4,000 people were reported without power by 4 PM EDT Friday afternoon. The agriculture industry sustained over $1.5 million in losses, including losses from crops, facilities and structures.

2. Mar 13, 2010Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains caused numerous streams to come out of their banks, resulting in significant flash flooding in Giles County. Some streams that flooded included Little Walker Creek, Big Walker Creek, Sugar Run, and Wabash Creek.||Numerous roads were closed across Giles County, and at least 20 roads were damaged due to flood waters Emergency Management reported 93 homes in the county were affected by flood waters. Two homes were destroyed and 31 received major damage. Flooding along Wolf Creek caused damage to several homes and properties in the town of Narrows. Several houses were also flooded by Walker Creek.

3. Nov 20, 2003Flood, Giles$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains on the 18th and 19th caused moderate flooding along the New River.The New River at Galax crested 2 feet above flood stage at 8 pm on the 19th. At Radford, the river crested over five and a half feet above flood stage at 1215 am on the 20th. Over 70 vehicles received water damage in Radford. At Glen Lyn, the river crested just under two and a half feet above flood stage at 715 am on the 20th. Also, in Giles County, small stream flooding along Wolf Creek and Little Stony Creek caused damage to several homes.

4. May 22, 2020Flood$970,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several news outlets reported the closure of heavily traveled Route 460 due to road damage and a large mudslide. The mudslide occurred about five miles east of the West Virginia line. VDOT provided road repair estimates.

5. Jul 25, 2002Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms during the late evening of the 25th and the early morning of the 26th produced significant flash flooding in Pearisburg and especially in Pembroke in Giles County. In Pearisburg numerous roads were flooded with several washed away. Damage was done to four businesses and several residences. In Pembroke, Doe Creek flooded numerous residences with eight businesses reporting water damage. This included a tire business that was completely destroyed and an auto dealership which suffered significant damage. Flash flooding also damaged the hotel at Mountain Lake.

6. Nov 19, 2003Flash Flood$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moderate to heavy rainfall late on the 18th and on the 19th resulted in flash flooding and small stream flooding. In addition, an isolated severe thunderstorm knocked down large tree limbs in Huddleston.Runoff from heavy rainfall resulted in numerous creeks and streams out of their banks, some of which flooded roads in Grayson, Roanoke, Bath, Alleghany, Tazewell, Wythe, Carroll, and Bland Counties and in and near Sugar Grove. In Bland County, sections of some roads were washed away by the flood waters. In Pembroke, Doe Creek flooded and damaged a barber shop. Near Lexington route 11 was closed because flood waters pushed debris into the road. In Tazewell county, businesses were…

7. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds brought trees down across different parts of the county. The winds also severely damaged a roof of a home on Muaney Road near Mountain Lake. Damage values are estimated.

8. Jan 19, 1996Flash Flood$350,000
9. Aug 8, 2013Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   WDBJ7 Television of Roanoke, Virginia and WVVA Television of Bluefield, WV reported that significant flash flooding affected the community of Pembroke in northeastern Giles county. Nearly three inches of rain fell in an hour causing creeks, streams, and drainage ditches in the area to quickly flash flood the town, which is in a relatively low elevation area compared to surrounding higher terrain and mountains (e.g., Pembroke's elevation is about 1600 feet, while Mountain Lake just a few miles to the east is over 4000 feet and Peters mountain just to the north is near 3500 feet elevation). Although flooding was reported along Doe Creek, the most significant flash flooding was the…

10. Jul 25, 2002Flash Flood$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorms during the late evening of the 25th and the early morning of the 26th produced significant flash flooding in Pearisburg and especially in Pembroke in Giles County. In Pearisburg numerous roads were flooded with several washed away. Damage was done to four businesses and several residences. In Pembroke, Doe Creek flooded numerous residences with eight businesses reporting water damage. This included a tire business that was completely destroyed and an auto dealership which suffered significant damage. Flash flooding also damaged the hotel at Mountain Lake.

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

100°F4 times, most recently Aug 18, 1988

All-time low

−18°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

77°FJul 29, 1993

Coldest day

3°F2 times, most recently Jan 21, 1985

Wettest day

4.92 inJun 28, 1995

Snowiest day

14.3 inJan 7, 1996

Hottest year

1991mean 56.4°F

Coldest year

1972mean 50.9°F

Wettest year

200352.01 in

Driest year

198824.58 in

Snowiest season

72.0 in1959-60

Station Pearisburg 4 Sse (USC00448022), 1,678 ft elevation, 3.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1970 to October 23, 2026; 97.3% 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 USC00448022.
• 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.