Norton city

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Wise$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four day rainfall totals of two to six inches were reported across southwest Virginia, with the highest amounts occurring in Wise and Lee counties. This rainfall combined with melting snowpack (reports of up to a foot in the higher elevations) to produce widespread flooding of rivers and streams, with evacuations ordered below Big Cherry Dam in Wise county due to water flowing over the spillway. The Clinch and Powell rivers measured significant rises due to the extended rainfall duration and snowmelt in the higher elevations.

2. Dec 18, 2009Heavy Snow, Wise$406,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement personnel reported 10 to 15 inches of snow fell across the county.

3. Feb 16, 2003Flash Flood$315,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads reported closed by law enforcement with numerous homes and businesses filled with water.

4. Apr 9, 2011Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-0 tornado with maximum winds at 80 mph, downed several trees and moderately damaged two old buildings in Norton, Virginia. The damage to the buildings consisted of a partial roof and wall collapsed along with a chimney collapsing.

5. Mar 5, 2015Flood$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Mudslide destroyed a mobile home on Armagosa Road just outside of Norton. No injuries.

6. Dec 9, 2009High Wind, Wise$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management personnel reported numerous trees downed by non thunderstorm winds countywide.

7. May 26, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were reported down in the Norton area.

8. Dec 1, 2006High Wind, Wise$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front tracked across the region bringing high non-thunderstorm winds to southwest Virginia.

9. Aug 24, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Virginia Department of Transportation reported several trees and limbs downed by thunderstorm winds in the City of Norton.

10. Jun 14, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A few trees down in the city of Norton and Wise County. Reported by Wise County EMA and Norton Police Department.

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

99°FJul 7, 2025

All-time low

−24°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°FJul 30, 2025

Coldest day

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

5.50 inApr 4, 1977

Snowiest day

26.0 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

1990mean 56.3°F

Coldest year

1958mean 50.4°F

Wettest year

201167.81 in

Driest year

199936.20 in

Snowiest season

124.2 in1995-96

Station Wise 1SE (USC00449215), 2,564 ft elevation, 4.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1955 to August 31, 2026; 96.3% 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 USC00449215.
• 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.