Stafford County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, Stafford$14.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On September 18, 2003, Hurricane Isabel made landfall on the North Carolina Coast. Its huge wind field was already piling water up into the southern Chesapeake Bay. By the time Isabel moved into central Virginia, it had weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm. Isabel's eye tracked well west of the bay, but the storm's 40 to 60 mph sustained winds pushed a bulge of water northward up the bay and its tributaries producing a record storm surge. The Virginia western shore counties of the Chesapeake Bay and the tidal tributaries of the Potomac, Rappahannock and other smaller rivers, experienced a storm surge which reached 5 to 9 feet above normal tides. In many locations,…

2. May 8, 2008Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS Storm Survey determined that a low-end EF2 tornado struck the England Run North subdivision in Berea. The tornado damage began just south of Route 17 in Berea. There were 160 home damaged and nearly destroyed in the England Run subdivision, with 25 categorized as uninhabitable. The storm continued northeast, damaging buildings at a FedEx facility.

3. May 7, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and utility poles down. Over twenty homes damaged, five suffered major damage.

4. Apr 23, 1999Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of thunderstorms developed in West Virginia during the early afternoon and moved rapidly southeast across Northern Virginia. These storms produced very large hail in a 10 mile wide strip from Winchester in Frederick County to Woodbridge in Prince William County from 3:30 PM EDT to 5:00 PM EDT. Winds over 55 MPH also downed trees and power lines in Frederick and Clarke County between 3:30 PM EDT and 4:15 PM EDT. Frederick County spotters reported between 1 3/4 to 3 1/2 inch diameter hail. The rubber membrane roof of the War Memorial Building in Winchester was punctured by hail the size of golf balls, allowing heavy rain to fall inside the structure and cause significant…

5. Jul 29, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Around 100 trees were uprooted with a few snapped at the trunk in Falmouth, particularly along VA-652 Truslow Road, Beagle Road, Worsham Lane, Limerick Lane, and Kelley Road. Multiple trees fell into two houses near the intersection of VA-652 Truslow Road and Melvin Drive causing severe damage. Another tree fell onto a house along Worsham Lane. A tree was uprooted along Vernon Street with tree damage noted on Gayle Street. Several trees were blown down along US-17 Warrenton Road near the Rappahannock River. Two trees fell onto two houses along Phillips Street. Trees blew down blocking the ramp from southbound I-95 to US-17 Warrenton Road. Three trees blew down onto homes in the…

6. Aug 8, 2024Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office staff conducted a ground survey of storm damage in western Stafford County that occurred on Thursday evening, August 8, 2024. NWS Doppler Radar in Sterling, Virginia showed a rotating severe thunderstorm that produced a tornado just before 8pm August 8, 2024.||The tornado touched down one mile northwest of Glendie, Virginia in the vicinity of Kellogg Mill Road and Mt. Olive Road around 7:49 PM EDT. Multiple large trees were snapped at the trunk and uprooted, leading to the closure of Mt. Olive Road for a period of time Thursday evening. The tornado continued northwest toward the Saratoga Woods and Manor Woods…

7. Sep 6, 1996Storm Surge/Tide$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The track of Tropical Storm Fran from south-central through western Virginia allowed gusty southeast winds at and just above the surface to channel water up the Chesapeake Bay and its main tributaries. This became a small-scale storm surge, containing 6 foot waves and tides which ran in some places nearly 6 feet above normal. In Alexandria (Fairfax/Arlington Co), water rose to 5 feet deep in the Old Town district, flooding numerous shopts, restaurants, and publs. Fortunately, many shop owners had moved valuable merchandise to higher locations prior to the surge, minimizing property damage.Farther south, the pounding waves and above normal tides caused damage to piers, marinas, and…

8. Sep 6, 1996Flood, Stafford$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The rapid runoff produced by the heavy rains from Fran caused substantial, damaging, and in some cases record river flooding across much of the northern Virginia watershed from late on the 6th until early on the 10th. Flash flooding on the 6th rapidly became river flooding late on the 6th along the headwaters of the Potomac, Shenandoah, and Rappahannock River basins, and continued throughout the basins over the weekend and into early the following week. Crests at gaging points in these basins were similar to those in January 1996 across the Lower Main Stem of the Potomac. Levels were 1 to 5 feet higher across the Upper Main Stem Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. The Shenandoah…

9. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Stafford$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power poles were down. Minor damage was reported to a few facilities. Several roads were closed due to fallen trees. US Route 1 and VA Route 654 were closed due to power lines down across the roadway. Approximately 8000 people were without power.

10. Jun 4, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A local newspaper reported several trees down across the county. Some trees fell on cars and 5 homes were damaged. At least 45 roads were blocked by trees across the county.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 8, 2012

All-time low

−6°FFeb 5, 1996

Warmest night

82°FJul 6, 2012

Coldest day

11°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

5.28 inSep 30, 2010

Snowiest day

17.9 inFeb 16, 2003

Hottest year

2012mean 62.7°F

Coldest year

1996mean 54.9°F

Wettest year

194853.18 in

Driest year

202116.18 in

Station Quantico Mcas (USW00013773), 10 ft elevation, 10.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1945 to October 23, 2026; 87.7% 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 USW00013773.
• 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.