Powhatan County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, Powhatan$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Isabel produced tropical storm force sustained winds and wind gusts over the piedmont of central and south central Virginia, as it crossed the Wakefield WFO county warning area. Isabel made landfall near Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina, tracked northwest into central Virginia just west of Richmond, then continued northward into western Pennsylvania. The highest sustained wind speed recorded was 38 mph at Richmond International Airport. The highest gusts recorded were 73 mph at Richmond International Airport, 63 mph at WWBT-TV, and 53 mph at Chase City in Mecklenburg county. Approximately several thousand persons were evacuated and housed in numerous shelters across…

2. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$105,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple trees were downed at the intersection of Route 522 and Route 711. Structural damage also occurred.

3. May 5, 2017Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado tracked from near the Norfolk Southern Railroad northeast to near the intersection of Bradbury Road (VA-672) and Moseley Road (VA-605). Many trees were found snapped or uprooted along this route, including several onto homes.

4. Feb 13, 2021Ice Storm, Powhatan$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.

5. Jan 30, 2000Ice Storm, Powhatan$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A significant ice storm affected portions of central and eastern Virginia with ice accumulations up to three-quarters of an inch. Precipitation began as a mixture of freezing rain, sleet, and snow, but then changed to all freezing rain during the morning hours. Freezing rain fell moderate to heavily at times. Tens of thousands of power outages were reported due to the weight of the ice snapping trees and power lines. Between 0.25 and 0.75 inches of ice were reported from Nottoway, Amelia, Powhatan, and Goochland counties.

6. Feb 18, 2021Winter Storm, Powhatan$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice accretions between 0.20 inch and 0.25 inch, along with sleet accumulations between 0.5 inch and 1.0 inch were reported. Several trees and power lines were downed, with numerous power outages reported.

7. Jun 14, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$28,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple trees fell down with two uprooted and two snapped. Additionally, a tree fell onto a house. Farm animals were injured.

8. Feb 11, 2025Winter Storm, Powhatan$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall totals generally ranged from 2 to 4 inches across Powhatan County. A snowfall total of 1.6 inches was reported from Genito. However, snowfall totals ranged from 6.6 inches to the northwest in Cumberland County to 4 inches to the south in Amelia County and 1.5 inches to the east in western Chesterfield County. Snow changed over to a wintry mix with a period of sleet and a prolonged period of freezing rain occurring. Total ice accretion from freezing rain ranged from 0.2 to 0.25 inches. An ice accretion of 0.25 inches was reported 1miles (NNW) from Ballsville. Additionally, widespread power outages were reported across the county (due mainly to the freezing rain) with more…

9. Mar 16, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$21,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong area of low pressure occluded over the Great Lakes on March 16, pushing a strong cold front towards the region. A secondary surface low formed along the cold front across portions of western North Carolina during the afternoon of March 16 before tracking northeast into Virginia during the evening of March 16. Scattered showers and severe storms occurred ahead of and along the cold front with the strongest storms along the front.

10. Jun 30, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees were uprooted. Three houses were damaged. One vehicle was crushed. An apparent microburst caused the damage.

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

105°F3 times, most recently Jul 5, 2026

All-time low

−9°F2 times, most recently Feb 6, 1996

Warmest night

78°FJul 2, 2026

Coldest day

10°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

6.97 inJun 28, 2015

Snowiest day

14.0 in3 times, most recently Dec 10, 2018

Hottest year

1990mean 59.2°F

Coldest year

2014mean 54.4°F

Wettest year

201860.07 in

Driest year

200131.60 in

Snowiest season

44.0 in2009-10

Station Crozier (USC00442142), 280 ft elevation, 8.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1976 to October 23, 2026; 95.4% 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 USC00442142.
• 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.