Sussex County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Sussex County: 3.
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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$4.4 million
   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…

2. Feb 24, 2016Tornado$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey concluded that an EF1 tornado occurred near Waverly. The tornado began a few miles south southwest of Waverly, moved fast through the town of Waverly, then ended about five miles north northeast of Waverly in Surry county. Maximum winds were between 100 and 110 mph. Numerous trees were downed, with two mobile homes destroyed and several homes and businesses damaged.

3. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Sussex$107,000
   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 five to ten inches.

4. Oct 9, 2016Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused an extended period of significant flooding across portions of the county. Numerous roads were impassable or closed for several days, and some homes and businesses were impacted.

5. Jun 7, 2019Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Highway 460 was closed in both directions at Main Street and Highway 31 due to flooding. Flooding also impacted the Virginia Diner and James River Equipment.

6. Oct 7, 2006Flash Flood$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads closed including a section of HWY 460. High water laso resulted in significant crop damage.

7. Feb 13, 2021Ice Storm, Sussex$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain or freezing drizzle resulted in significant ice accretion between 0.25 inch and 0.35 inch across the county. Numerous trees and power lines were downed, with widespread power outages reported due to the ice accretion.

8. May 22, 2014Tornado$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF0 tornado developed just north of Highway 460 and south of Petersburg Road approximately one mile northwest of Waverly. The tornado moved south crossing Highway 460 just north of Waverly. As the tornado tracked across Highway 460, it struck the NAPA auto parts store causing only minor damage. Numerous large trees were uprooted and snapped along Highway 460. Highway 460 was closed for a time due to the downed trees. The tornado continued tracking south to North Church Street causing minor damage to the First Baptist Church. Numerous large trees fell into the neighboring cemetery damaging a number of sites. Continuing south, the tornado tracked along New Street snapping trees…

9. Jul 8, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$21,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The 911 call center reported a tree down on a house along Hines Lane.

10. Jul 8, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$21,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The 911 call center reported a tree down on a house on Williams Lane in Wakefield.

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 25, 2010

All-time low

−14°FJan 7, 2018

Warmest night

82°FJul 23, 1991

Coldest day

14°F2 times, most recently Jan 20, 1994

Wettest day

9.17 inAug 27, 2011

Snowiest day

11.0 inJan 25, 2000

Hottest year

2017mean 61.4°F

Coldest year

2014mean 57.2°F

Wettest year

202074.72 in

Driest year

200134.67 in

Snowiest season

23.5 in1988-89

Station Wakefield 1 Nw (USC00448800), 113 ft elevation, 11.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1982 to October 22, 2026; 98.1% 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 USC00448800.
• 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.