Lynchburg city

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Aug 2, 2018Flash Flood$18.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extreme rainfall of 4 to 6 inches in several hours produced widespread flash flooding in the City of Lynchburg. The first reports began around 515 PM local time (415 PM EST) and continued for several hours with numerous roads closed by water running over them, vehicles flooded, water rescues and several properties flooded or threatened. Several apartment complexes and nearby cars were flooded. The runoff into College Lake caused water to overflow the dam (which is also Lakeside Road) to a depth of at least 12 to 18 inches and into Blackwater Creek. The overtopping is considered a partial failure of the dam but a complete failure of the structure was possible. This resulted in a…

2. Apr 15, 2018Tornado$9.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is the second segment of a tornado that touched down just south of Waterlink Road near Timberlake in Campbell County at 6:00 PM EST. The tornado crossed Timberlake Road and entered the independent city of Lynchburg at 6:03 PM EST. The tornado uprooted trees and caused notable damage to 332 private buildings, and 34 of those buildings were condemned due to the damage. It also damaged numerous power lines and transformers. Two people were injured. At 6:07 PM EST, the tornado left the independent city of Lynchburg, crossed the James River, and continued northward into Amherst County.

3. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$7.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew down over 1,000 trees across the City of Lynchburg. Many power lines also came down as a direct result of the wind or trees and limbs falling on them. The winds damaged eight homes to the point of being deemed uninhabitable or destroyed. Damage values are estimated.

4. Jun 9, 2018Heavy Rain$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall of 2 to 3 inches in a few hours caused the partial collapse of a roof at a manufacturing plant in Lynchburg. About 35 employees were working inside the plant when the storm began but safely evacuated before the roof collapsed. The collapse opened up a hole in the roof of the rear of the building, measuring about 75 foot by 100 foot. A broken water main and a partially opened roof resulted in about an inch of flooding inside the plant according to reports. A CoCoRaHS observer at Lynchburg 1.3 SSW measured 2.24 for the 24 hours ending 7AM local time and a nearby observer at Lynchburg 1.3 SSW had 2.21 inches.

5. Jun 11, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds toppled a crane at Liberty University. Damage values are estimated.

6. Jun 11, 2014Lightning$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning strike ignited a house fire at 509 Sussex St., Lynchburg, VA. Firefighters were able to quickly contain the flames, and there were no injuries to either the residents or the firefighters. The family of five were displaced due to the damage. Damage values are estimated.

7. Sep 6, 1996High Wind, Campbell$200,000
8. Aug 1, 2019Flash Flood$180,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were numerous reports of flash flooding around Lynchburg as 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in a few hours during the late evening. A tributary of Blackwater creek flooded a portion of Greenwood Drive, near Sandusky Drive and a tributary to Tomahawk Creek flooded, but did not affect any homes. A culvert under a portion of Lake Vista Drive in Forest collapsed due to the heavy runoff and was repaired by VDOT. Vehicles were reported to be stuck in water at 1200 Wythe Road and in the 3900 block of Old Forest Rd. Several other roads were reported to have flooded including Fort Avenue Drive and McConville Rd.

9. Mar 2, 2018High Wind, Campbell$160,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds downed numerous trees and power lines within the county and also the City of Lynchburg. Several roads were blocked, including one by a downed power line near the Bedford County line along Route 24. A mobile home sustained moderate damage when a tree fell on the structure. Power outages peaked at 21,000 customers in the Lynchburg region. Damage values are estimated.

10. Jul 16, 2023Debris Flow$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Runoff from heavy rainfall caused a portion of the hillside along 12th Street to collapse onto the road, blocking both lanes of traffic. The road was closed for multiple weeks to clear the debris and perform work to stabilize the hillside to prevent additional debris flows. The property damage estimate is the cost of removal of the debris and the necessary repair work.

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°F2 times, most recently Jun 29, 2012

All-time low

−11°FFeb 20, 2015

Warmest night

77°F4 times, most recently Jun 23, 1996

Coldest day

11°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.05 inSep 6, 1996

Snowiest day

14.3 inJan 7, 1996

Hottest year

2020mean 59.4°F

Coldest year

1997mean 54.0°F

Wettest year

202069.73 in

Driest year

196326.56 in

Snowiest season

56.8 in1995-96

Station Lynchburg Regional Airport (USW00013733), 902 ft elevation, 5.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1944 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00013733.
• 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.