Louisa County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several large trees, power poles, power lines and branches were downed countywide. Trees were reported down on homes and cars in Mineral.

2. Apr 19, 2019Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down in a wooded area east of Mineral in northeast Louisa County near Elk Creek Road. The tornado crossed Elk Creek Road producing EF0 damage in the trees, and knocked a tree down on a car on Gill Lane. The tornado proceeded north into an open field, before producing substantial damage to a restored 18th century two story home. EF2 damage was observed as the roof was removed and numerous hardwood trees on the property were snapped. More hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted immediately north of the property before crossing an arm of Lake Anna. The tornado then produced EF1 damage to the garage and trees at a residence along Beauregard Way, before lifting…

3. Oct 13, 2011Tornado$175,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado first touched down along U.S. Route 15 near the Historic Sylvania Plantation, which is part of the Green Springs National Historic Landmark District. The tornado continued to move across the plantation, first shearing off several hardwood trees before encountering the Sylvania Plantation home that was built in 1746. The tornado peeled the roof off the house while tearing the porches off both the front and back of the house. It also uprooted several trees on the eastern side of the house. The tornado then impacted the pool area on the far side of the house knocking down the fence and throwing pool furniture in multiple directions. The tornado continued away from the pool…

4. May 13, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread wind damage occurred across Louisa County and was reported by several sources. Numerous trees and power lines were downed along the border of Louisa and Albemarle Counties near the town of Boswell's Tavern. There was structural damage to buildings there also. Damage occurred across the county towards Bumpass where the roof was torn off a fitness center and carried a considerable distance to rest on Route 33.

5. May 27, 2022Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The National Weather Service in Wakefield surveyed the storm damage in central Louisa County and found it to be consistent with low-end EF1 damage with peak wind speeds of 90 to 95 mph. The tornado touched down in an open area southwest of Yanceyville Road near Bend of River. Sparse trees were snapped in the area. The tornado then entered a wooded area northeast of Yanceyville Road with a clear path of snapped and uprooted hardwood trees. The path at this point was over 200 yards wide with likely low-end EF1 damage. Next, the tornado moved through an inaccessible area before impacting a home at the end of a long lane. This home had shingle damage, a window broken, a backdoor…

6. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several large trees were downed in Mineral.

7. Feb 13, 2021Ice Storm, Western Louisa$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain or freezing drizzle resulted in significant ice accretion between 0.30 inch and 0.50 inch across the county. Numerous trees and power lines were downed, with widespread power outages reported due to the ice accretion.

8. May 4, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Car was flipped over. Silo and a barn were damaged. Roofs were damaged.

9. Feb 13, 2021Ice Storm, Eastern Louisa$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain or freezing drizzle resulted in significant ice accretion between 0.25 inch and 0.40 inch across the county. Numerous trees and power lines were downed, with widespread power outages reported due to the ice accretion.

10. May 4, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Wind gust of 77 knots (89 mph) was reported. Numerous planes were overturned and some buildings were damaged at the Louisa county Airport.

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

108°FJul 20, 1930

All-time low

−21°FFeb 5, 1996

Warmest night

88°FJul 22, 1930

Coldest day

12°FJan 9, 1970

Wettest day

11.18 inAug 20, 1969

Snowiest day

17.8 inDec 19, 2009

Hottest year

1990mean 59.3°F

Coldest year

1924mean 52.4°F

Wettest year

200371.57 in

Driest year

193021.61 in

Snowiest season

59.5 in2009-10

Station Louisa (USC00445050), 420 ft elevation, 4.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1916 to October 22, 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 USC00445050.
• 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.