NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Buchanan, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Buchanan, Virginia since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 19 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 19
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Buchanan
The strongest storm to pass near Buchanan was an unnamed storm in 1896, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 44 miles away. The record near Buchanan begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 25 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. Of the 14 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site, 74% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Buchanan. The highest rating among the 19 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 5 times; the most recent, on May 27, 2022, came within 20 miles. Of the 19, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on September 27, 2024. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Buchanan. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 36 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 364 Virginia cities, 61% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Buchanan.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Buchanan
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 44 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Buchanan: 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 Buchanan
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s5
- 2000s5
- 1990s3
- 1970s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2022 | EF2 | 20 mi | 6.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jul 15, 1996 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1974 | F2 | 20 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF1 | 16 mi | 1.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 9 mi | 2.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 2018 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 2003 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 19, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Buchanan
The Storm Prediction Center has 36 hail reports within 10 miles of Buchanan since 1959, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 16 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on April 28, 1959. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. May has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Buchanan
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Buchanan, VA, in Buchanan at 880 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 27°F. July is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 43.5 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (22.2 of 43.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 14 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 42 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 96 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.4 inches a year, most of it in December. That 43.5 inches is more than at 25 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (23%). Blue Ridge, 13 miles southwest, has its own station (Roanoke 8 N, VA): 45.7 inches a year, 2.2 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 27 | 3.2 | 6 | 2.5 |
| Feb | 49 | 29 | 2.7 | 5 | 2.3 |
| Mar | 57 | 35 | 3.7 | 7 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 70 | 44 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.1 |
| May | 77 | 54 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 67 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 66 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 59 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 47 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 47 | 30 | 3.5 | 6 | 4.7 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 43.5 | 73 | 11.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Buchanan, VA (880 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 Buchanan
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 112 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Buchanan: 76 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 10 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $843,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on April 28, 2011. September has had the most flash floods, 9 of 22. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 202 have had fewer than Buchanan.
July 3, 2013: flood 4 miles from the centre of Buchanan — 1 killed.
NWS: “A Botetourt County man was drowned while attempting to clear a blocked culvert near his home near Buchanan. The man fell into the stream around 4:45 AM and was caught in the current.”
April 7, 2006: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Buchanan — 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
June 8, 2022: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Buchanan — 1 injured.
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Buchanan's ZIP code 24066 have filed 75 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 44 claims (59% of all) and $1.3 million. 71% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 183 Virginia cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 120 have fewer than Buchanan.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 44 | $1.3 million |
Botetourt County, which includes Buchanan, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms and Flooding, on April 4, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Botetourt County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.0 million a year, the 64th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.0 million (78%), 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 Buchanan
- Fincastle, VA11 mi
- Eagle Rock, VA12 mi
- Thaxton, VA12 mi
- Blue Ridge, VA13 mi
- Glasgow, VA14 mi
- Troutville, VA14 mi
- Daleville, VA16 mi
- Bedford, VA16 mi
- Goode, VA19 mi
- Vinton, VA20 mi
- Clifton Forge, VA21 mi
- Lexington, VA21 mi
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