Petersburg city

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Sep 18, 2003Hurricane (Typhoon), Prince George$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Isabel was a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the Wakefield WFO county warning area. Sustained tropical storm force winds with frequent gusts to hurricane force occurred over interior southeast Virginia. Isabel made landfall near Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina, tracked northwest into central Virginia just west of Richmond, then continued northward into western Pennsylvania. Approximately several thousand persons were evacuated and housed in numerous shelters across interior southeast Virginia. The unusually large wind field uprooted many thousands of trees, downed many power lines, damaged hundreds of houses, and snapped thousands of telephone poles and cross arms.…

2. Jul 15, 2025Flash Flood$4.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Virginia Department of Emergency Management in collaboration with the National Weather Service in Wakefield Virginia conducted a Virginia Incident Damage Assessment for the City of Petersburg after significant flooding on the night of July 14 into the morning of July 15. Widespread rainfall totals of 3-5 inches were observed across Petersburg with one report of 7.33 inches from the Petersburg, Dinwiddie County Airport ASOS/AWOS. The damage assessment found 38 damaged commercial buildings with a combined estimated damage of $3,863,288 and 16 damaged residential buildings with an estimated damage of $897,205. There was major damage to 9 commercial properties and 2 residential…

3. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Prince George$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force winds knocked down several trees and power lines, as well as caused some structural damage. In addition, heavy rains contributed to significant crop damage. Storm total rainfall generally ranged from six to nine inches.

4. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$650,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain from Hurricane Floyd produced widespread flooding and flash flooding across much of central and eastern Virginia, and northeast North Carolina. Rainfall amounts generally ranged from near 7 inches from eastern Caroline county to Richmond City to Brunswick, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg counties, to 12 to 18 inches in much of the Virginia Tidewater. Numerous roads were washed out due to flooding. Many areas normally prone only to flooding of poor drainage and low lying areas experienced significant flash flooding. Primary routes out of service included US 460 near Wakefield, US 58 near Emporia and Franklin, and Interstate 95 south of Petersburg to Emporia. River…

5. Jul 9, 2008Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado briefly touched down at the intersection of Farmer Street and Fairgrounds Road in the west section of Petersburg. There was extensive damage to a warehouse, including the roof being blown off the warehouse. Utility poles and powerlines were also downed in the vicinity.

6. Jun 1, 2012Tornado$175,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado tracked approximately 3 miles beginning on the western edge of Fort Hayes Common where a couple of trees were damaged. It then continued northeast through portions of the Battlefield Park, Oakhurst and East Walnut Hill sections of Petersburg. The tornado then crossed Interstate 95 causing minor damage, mainly windows blown out and signs damaged just east of the intersection of Route 460 and Hickory Hill Road. The last damage or debris was observed on the north side of the Petersburg National Battlefield. The tornado damage was characterized by trees, large limbs and power lines down. A number of trees fell on homes. The most significant damage occurred in the East…

7. Jul 15, 2025Flash Flood$165,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Broadcast media reported that a home in Petersburg was unlivable due to the extent of flooding in the home. A picture of the home showed water up to the bottom of the windowsill. The picture also showed a submerged vehicle parked beside the home. The timestamp was estimated by radar with heavy rain occurring between 8:30 PM EST on July 14 through 4 AM EST on July 15.

8. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were downed. Structural damage also occurred.

9. Jul 15, 2025Flash Flood$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Residents of the first floor of apartments on Bank Street were evacuating due to rising water.

10. Jul 13, 2025Flash Flood$60,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Multiple water rescues were ongoing across the city of Petersburg.

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

106°FAug 31, 1932

All-time low

−11°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

89°F2 times, most recently Jul 9, 1925

Coldest day

15°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

7.61 inSep 16, 1999

Snowiest day

14.0 inJan 24, 1940

Hottest year

1998mean 63.5°F

Coldest year

1958mean 57.0°F

Wettest year

200371.17 in

Driest year

196523.38 in

Snowiest season

30.7 in1947-48

Station Hopewell (USC00444101), 40 ft elevation, 8.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1916 to October 18, 2026; 91.8% 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 USC00444101.
• 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.