NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brookneal, 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
30 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Brookneal, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 27 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 27
- Tornadoes
- 27
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Brookneal
The strongest storm to pass near Brookneal was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 2 miles. The record near Brookneal begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 73 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems. Of the 30 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Brookneal has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 27 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on February 24, 2016; its path came within 11 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 27, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on July 24, 2024. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Brookneal. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 23 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 364 Virginia cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Brookneal.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Brookneal
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 48 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 2 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 32 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Brookneal: 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 Brookneal
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s6(1 EF3+)
- 2000s10
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s3
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF3 | 11 mi | 16.89 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 7 mi | 18.1 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Nov 2, 2018 | EF2 | 17 mi | 1.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Oct 13, 1983 | F2 | 18 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1977 | F2 | 22 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 1960 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1957 | F2 | 5 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2022 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.06 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2019 | EF1 | 6 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF1 | 13 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 27, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brookneal
The Storm Prediction Center has 23 hail reports within 10 miles of Brookneal since 1958, made on 20 separate days. Of these, 11 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 21, 1970. The most recent report is from June 26, 2023. May has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brookneal
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brookneal, VA, 3 miles west of Brookneal at 408 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 46.0 inches over 78 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 46.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 30 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (12); a normal September there has highs of 81°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.0 inches is more than at 57 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (52%). Charlotte Court House, 15 miles east, has its own station (Charlotte Court House, VA): 46.7 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 24 | 3.7 | 7 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 52 | 26 | 2.8 | 6 | 2.3 |
| Mar | 60 | 32 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 71 | 42 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 52 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 60 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 65 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 64 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 56 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 43 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 32 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 51 | 27 | 3.7 | 7 | 1.5 |
| Year | 69 | 44 | 46.0 | 78 | 7.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brookneal, VA (408 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 Brookneal
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 170 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brookneal: 131 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 15 floods, 4 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 3, 2006. September has had the most flash floods, 7 of 18. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 162 have had fewer than Brookneal.
December 7, 2011: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Brookneal — $200,000 damage.
July 17, 2009: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Brookneal — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “A microburst occurred near the intersection of Epsons Road and McIver Road west of Brookneal. Damaging winds downed many trees.”
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Brookneal — $125,000 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
Campbell County, which includes Brookneal, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms and Flooding, on April 4, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Campbell County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.1 million a year, the 58th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.8 million (64%), 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 Brookneal
- Gladys, VA9 mi
- Nathalie, VA10 mi
- Charlotte Court House, VA15 mi
- Spout Spring, VA17 mi
- Rustburg, VA17 mi
- Pamplin, VA18 mi
- Concord, VA19 mi
- Altavista, VA20 mi
- Halifax, VA21 mi
- Appomattox, VA21 mi
- Hurt, VA21 mi
- Drakes Branch, VA22 mi
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