NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Appomattox, VA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Appomattox, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 22 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 22
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Appomattox
The strongest storm to pass near Appomattox was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 89 mph winds when its centre passed 47 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 5 miles. The record near Appomattox begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 9 miles away. The 1880s and the 1890s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 25 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Appomattox has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 22 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 15, 2018, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on February 24, 2016, killed 1 person. Of the 22, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on May 11, 2019. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 71% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Appomattox. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 44 times since 1959, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Appomattox has more hail reports within 10 miles than 49% of the 364 Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Appomattox
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 47 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 11 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 5 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 29 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Appomattox: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Appomattox
By decade
- 2010s7(2 EF3+)
- 2000s7
- 1990s1
- 1970s2
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF3 | 5 mi | 16.89 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF3 | 23 mi | 20.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 16, 1966 | F3 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 22 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Sep 10, 1960 | F2 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1957 | F2 | 12 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2019 | EF1 | 13 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 22 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF1 | 13 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF1 | 25 mi | 5.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF1 | 7 mi | 0.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 12 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 22, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Appomattox
The Storm Prediction Center has 44 hail reports within 10 miles of Appomattox since 1959, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 22 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 26, 1962. The most recent report is from March 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Appomattox
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Appomattox, VA, 4 miles south of Appomattox at 850 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 46.3 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (23.6 of 46.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 25 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (11); a normal September there has highs of 78°F and 4.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 94 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.3 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 46.3 inches is more than at 58 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (53%). Prospect, 15 miles east, has its own station (Farmville 2 N, VA): 44.4 inches a year, 1.9 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 27 | 3.5 | 6 | 3.2 |
| Feb | 49 | 29 | 2.8 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Mar | 57 | 35 | 4.0 | 7 | 2.8 |
| Apr | 68 | 44 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.1 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 63 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 67 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 65 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 59 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 47 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 48 | 30 | 4.1 | 7 | 2.0 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 46.3 | 75 | 11.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Appomattox, VA (850 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Appomattox
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 214 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Appomattox: 172 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 8 heavy rain events, 6 floods and 4 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $755,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 29, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 24. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 213 have had fewer than Appomattox.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Appomattox — $150,000 damage.
January 25, 2010: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Appomattox — $100,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Appomattox County, which includes Appomattox, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms and Flooding, on April 4, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Appomattox County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $3.2 million a year, the 120th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.8 million (58%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Appomattox
- Spout Spring, VA7 mi
- Concord, VA9 mi
- Pamplin, VA11 mi
- Prospect, VA15 mi
- Madison Heights, VA17 mi
- Buckingham, VA18 mi
- Rustburg, VA19 mi
- Dillwyn, VA20 mi
- Gladys, VA21 mi
- Lynchburg, VA21 mi
- Brookneal, VA21 mi
- Farmville, VA23 mi
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