Roanoke County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (5).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 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. Aug 1, 2012Hail$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous reports of quarter to golf ball-sized hail were received from trained spotters and the public across the city of Roanoke and surrounding areas just outside of the city on the northwest, west, and southwest sides. Quarter-sized hail was observed at the Glen Cove Elementary School northwest of Roanoke with golf ball-sized hail also observed nearby, quarter-sized hail was observed on Green Ridge Road northwest of Roanoke, golf ball-sized hail on Peters Creek Road near the Roanoke Woodrum Field Airport, and quarter-sized hail was observed on Pine Court Road southwest of Roanoke. These were the hail reports observed outside the independent City of Roanoke. Several hail reports…

3. Mar 10, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The entire roof blew off of a twelve unit, three story apartment building on Highland Farms Road. The exposed third floor apartments received significant water damage due to the ongoing thunderstorm. Water soaked into second story apartments. Damage values are estimated.

4. May 27, 2018Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple reports of flash flooding in Roanoke County. Most of the reports were between 230 and 500 PM EST. Several roads were closed or damaged and at least 20 homes partially flooded. Garst Mill Park was flooded to a depth of several feet. The main cause of flooding was from Mudlick Creek which rose approximately 10 feet in elevation to an estimated flow of 2400 cubic feet per second per a post-flood survey. The survey indicated that the flood was approximately a 10-year recurrence interval (0.1 annual exceedance probability).

5. May 19, 2020Heavy Rain$764,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The CoCoRaHS site at Roanoke 5.9 WSW (VA-RN-19) had a 4-day total of 11.34 inches of rain ending at 700 AM on May 22nd. Daily rainfall totals were 1.98, 2.74, 4.01, 2.61 inches starting on May 19th. Per NOAA Atlas 14, for a 4-day period this rainfall total is in the 90 percent confidence interval (10.4 to 12.6 inches) for a 500-year recurrence event (.002 annual exceedance probability). Several other CoCoRaHS sites in the Cave Spring area or Roanoke County had comparable amounts of rainfall, with amounts over 11 inches. A significant debris flow was reported near Poages Mill that covered both lanes on Sunnycrest Road and brought down a number of trees and a couple of utility…

6. Oct 11, 2018Flash Flood$755,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roanoke County was included in a Presidential Major Disaster declaration due mainly to the severe flooding associated with Tropical Storm Michael. 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. There were numerous reports of…

7. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew hundreds, if not thousands, of trees down across the county. Power lines were also downed by a combination of the wind and falling trees and limbs on the lines. Damage values are estimated.

8. 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.

9. Sep 17, 2018Flash Flood$355,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roanoke County was included in the Presidential Major Disaster declaration with significant damage to roads and other structures. Route 744E from Bottom Creek Road to Bent Mountain Road was closed due to a washout. Radar estimated 4 to 6 inches of rain over the southwest part of the county in the 24- hours ending 1200z (700 AM local time) and several IFLOWS rain gages had 4+ inches including 4.40 inches at Witt's Orchard (WITV2) and 4.21 inches at Poor Mtn. (POOV2). The areal extent of flooding was adjusted per runoff from the CREST hydrologic model.

10. Jul 16, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$330,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees were blown down in several locations causing extensive damage to a number of homes and vehicles on Oleander Court. Damage also occurred to an apartment building. A wind gust to 71 mph was measured at Brookside Golf Course where several large tree limbs were brought down.

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, 3.3 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.