Roanoke city

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Roanoke 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. Feb 22, 2003Flood, Roanoke$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain over a long period of time caused small stream and urban flooding. A man who had been rescued once from the North Fork of the Roanoke River, returned to his truck with his father, and attempted to recover items from the truck. They remained trapped in the flood waters for several hours. The son died later that night in the hospital from hypothermia. Small stream and urban flooding was also reported across Botetourt, Pulaski, Patrick, Smyth, Rockbridge, Tazewell, Campbell, Franklin, Alleghany, Craig, Bland, Floyd, Amherst, and Roanoke counties. One man was killed when he tried to cross a low water bridge over Tinker Creek in Vinton. He was swept about 200 feet downstream…

2. Jul 23, 2009Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding prompted Ore Branch to leave its banks. The area of Franklin Road and Brandon Avenue was flooded. The flash flooding caused the Ramada Inn in the 1900 block of Franklin Road to have its parking lot inundated. Numerous cars in the parking lot were floating in the water. Damage values are estimated.

3. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees across the City of Roanoke. The winds also blew a roof off a house, and power lines were downed. Roanoke Regional Airport measured at wind gust of 81 MPH. Damage values were estimated.

4. Feb 12, 2014Heavy Snow, Roanoke$550,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall amounts ranged from 18 inches across the eastern part of the county to much of the Roanoke County and the City of Roanoke receiving between 20 and 23 inches of snow. The weight of the heavy snow caused the roof of a business in the City of Salem to collapse around 300pm on February 14th. The collapsing roof also damaging the supporting cinder block wall and three parked vehicles. Around 1000pm on Thursday another the roof of a gas station collapsed due to the weight of the snow on it.

5. May 27, 2018Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive flooding occurred from Mudlick Creek along Grandin and Garst Mill Roads with water getting into many homes. Post-flood survey indicated a recurrence interval of about 10 years (0.1 annual exceedance probability) on Mudlick Creek as the stream rose roughly 10 feet above baseflow.

6. Jul 12, 2016Lightning$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning strike caused a home to catch fire.

7. Jun 3, 2008Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF0 Tornado, with wind speeds of approximately 70 to 80 mph, first touched down near the intersection of Welch Road, and Bluefield Blvd, near Fishburn Park at 6:27 PM EST. A narrow and very sporadic swath of tornado damage was observed on a southeast path ending on Robin Hood Road, just over one and a half miles away. The width of the tornado was 60 yards at its greatest. Damage was confined to trees blown down, with a few falling on homes, but there was not direct damage to homes or other structures.

8. Mar 20, 1998Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms during the late morning and afternoon hours produced a tornado, flash flooding, hail up to golfball size, and damaging winds.From the same storm that produced two tornadoes in North Carolina, a tornado formed about 2 miles west of Sandy Level in extreme southeastern Henry County and travelled northeast about 11 miles before dissipating about 2 miles west of Whitmell in Pittsylvania County. This tornado was generally from 100 to 200 yards wide, with damage in some areas up to 350 yards wide. This tornado damaged or destroyed several vehicles, barns, and outbuildings, and more than 60 residences, damaged two churches, and toppled trees and power lines. Some of the…

9. Jul 19, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms began developing during the afternoon hours of the 19th due primarily to daytime heating in an already unstable atmosphere. Some of these increased to severe levels, producing both damaging wind gusts, and large hail. As evening arrived, severe storms continued to be a treat thanks to the approach and then arrival of a dying meso-scale convective complex that moved out of the Ohio Valley and into our region. Again, damaging wind gusts, and large hail resulted from these severe storms. Perhaps the most notable damage occurred in the City of Roanoke. Damaging winds estimated to be near 80 mph blew the roof off a museum, carrying it into the parking lot of a neighboring…

10. Oct 11, 2018Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Extremely high sustained rain rates (2-4 inches per hour) became concentrated across parts of the Roanoke area between 1100 AM to 200 PM local time. At 243 PM a rare Flash Flood Emergency was issued for Roanoke City, City of Salem and Roanoke County after consultation with local Emergency management amidst reports of numerous water rescues in the area. Radar and rain gages showed 3 to 6 inches of rain during this period from the southern part of Roanoke City into the adjacent portions of Roanoke County. Numerous water rescues were conducted in the Roanoke City including at the Ramada Inn along flooded Franklin Road. Numerous roads were flooded across the city.

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°FAug 21, 1983

All-time low

−11°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

79°FAug 9, 2007

Coldest day

11°F5 times, most recently Dec 22, 1989

Wettest day

6.61 inNov 4, 1985

Snowiest day

15.4 inFeb 13, 1960

Hottest year

2024mean 60.5°F

Coldest year

1966mean 54.6°F

Wettest year

202062.65 in

Driest year

200124.94 in

Snowiest season

62.7 in1959-60

Station Roanoke-blacksburg Regional Airport (USW00013741), 1,138 ft elevation, 2.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00013741.
• 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.