Washington County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Washington County: 4.
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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 27, 2024Flash Flood$105 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large event that began with roads blocked by flooding. Water quickly began encroaching into low-lying structures and residences especially in and near Damascus during late morning, especially along Laurel Creek, which runs through town. Evacuations and water rescues were underway before noon EDT (11 am EST). Laurel Creek rose five feet in an hour, from near 9.75 feet to near 14.75 feet from 10:30 am to 11:30 am EDT (9:30 to 10:30 am EST). Gage was destroyed when its bridge collapsed, but probably after measuring near 17 feet at 12:15 pm EDT (11:15 am EST). The river continued to rise probably another foot or two. Residents continued calling 911 due to flooding of homes and roads…

2. Apr 28, 2011Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Glade Spring Tornado. An NWS storm survey reported an EF3 tornado formed south of Abingdon and tracked northeast to the Glade Spring area then moved into Smyth County Virginia. The 140 mph wind speed associated with the tornado, destroyed a small church as well as producing extensive damage to many residences and businesses. The tornado crossed I-81 at the Glade Spring exit (Exit 29) and caused extensive damage to a large truck stop as well as flipping trucks on the property. One truck turned on its side and smashed into the corner of the restaurant. ||Three people died and 50 were injured by the tornado. A 59 year old man and a 67 year old women died when the tornado destroyed…

3. Dec 9, 2009High Wind, Washington$760,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management reported that several trees were blown down by non thunderstorm winds near Whitetop Mountain and also in several locations across the county. A church was destroyed at Glade Springs and two large signs were blown down in the county.

4. Jun 12, 2004Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several people became trapped in a convenience store when the parking lot and surrounding area became flooded with over five feet of water. Most roads in the Meadowview community and surrounding area were flooded and closed. One lane of Interstate 81 southbound was covered in water. Traffic was heavily impacted. Hillman Highway and US Highway 11 were underwater and closed in many locations. Roadbeds were undermined.

5. Jan 24, 2026Winter Storm, Washington$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A significant and highly damaging ice storm unfolded in Washington County VA as temperatures struggled to get to 32F or above, especially in the northeastern portion of the county. Ice accretion ranged from 0.25 to 0.50 inches across the county, resulting in significant damage. A trained spotter reported a maximum of 0.75 inch in the Emory and Meadowview areas, these locations stayed below freezing for a significant period of time. Extensive utility damage occurred, with power poles, powerlines, and transformers breaking from either ice weight outright or collapse of trees. At least 45% of the county was without power by the evening on the 25th. Snow and sleet accumulations of 0.8…

6. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Abingdon Tornado. A NWS Storm Survey reported an EF1 tornado touched down near Abingdon. It started about 2 miles south of I-81 exit 17, near Highway 75 and tracked across Highway 58, just south of Highway 11 before dissipating. The max wind of 105 mph downed numerous trees.

7. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Washington$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four day rainfall totals of two to six inches were reported across southwest Virginia, with the highest amounts occurring in Wise and Lee counties. This rainfall combined with melting snowpack (reports of up to a foot in the higher elevations) to produce widespread flooding of rivers and streams, with evacuations ordered below Big Cherry Dam in Wise county due to water flowing over the spillway. The Clinch and Powell rivers measured significant rises due to the extended rainfall duration and snowmelt in the higher elevations.

8. Mar 1, 2012Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This small tornado developed in the Combs Valley area from a supercell moving to the east through southwest Virginia. The tornado started on a hill crossed much of a farm, downed some trees and causing damage to several farm buildings. The tornado dissipated while on this same farm.

9. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Green Cove Tornado. A NWS Storm Survey reported an EF1 tornado touched down near Green Cove on the Virginia Creeper Trail. It had a path width of 200 yards and a path length of 0.5 miles. The max wind of 90 mph downed numerous trees.

10. Jul 28, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$45,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A mobile home at 17500 Annie Lanenear highway 58 was blown over and destroyed.

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

100°FAug 17, 1988

All-time low

−21°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

74°FAug 2, 2022

Coldest day

5°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

5.10 inAug 19, 2018

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1996

Hottest year

2021mean 56.9°F

Coldest year

1996mean 52.2°F

Wettest year

202061.36 in

Driest year

200731.48 in

Snowiest season

55.1 in1995-96

Station Abingdon 3S (USC00440021), 1,925 ft elevation, 2.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1969 to October 23, 2026; 93.7% 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 USC00440021.
• 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.