NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Buckingham, 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
27 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Buckingham, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 24
- Tornadoes
- 16
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Buckingham
The strongest storm to pass near Buckingham was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 89 mph winds when its centre passed 39 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 13 miles. The record near Buckingham begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 1 mile away. The 1880s and the 1890s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 27 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Buckingham has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 16 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on February 24, 2016, came within 12 miles. Of the 16, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. February and May have had the most tornadoes, 3 each. The most recent tornado was on April 19, 2019. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Buckingham. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 39 times since 1966, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 364 Virginia cities, 56% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Buckingham.
Compare Buckingham's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Buckingham
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 39 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 19 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 11 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 13 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 20 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 17 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Buckingham: 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 Buckingham
By decade
- 2010s4(1 EF3+)
- 2000s4
- 1990s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF3 | 12 mi | 16.89 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Jun 16, 1966 | F3 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 1960 | F2 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 12 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF1 | 22 mi | 5.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF1 | 18 mi | 0.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 23, 1983 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 2, 1979 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1970 | F1 | 22 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 23, 1959 | F1 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 1, 1951 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF0 | 22 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Buckingham
The Storm Prediction Center has 39 hail reports within 10 miles of Buckingham since 1966, made on 34 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on February 17, 1998. The most recent report is from September 8, 2023. June has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Buckingham
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tye Rvr 1 SE, VA, 18 miles west of Buckingham at 720 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 26°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 46.5 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (24.4 of 46.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 27 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (13); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 105 nights a year. That 46.5 inches is more than at 60 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (55%). Dillwyn, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Farmville 2 N, VA): 44.4 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 26 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Feb | 52 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Mar | 60 | 34 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Apr | 70 | 43 | 3.6 | 6 |
| May | 77 | 52 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jun | 84 | 61 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 87 | 66 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 64 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 71 | 45 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Nov | 61 | 35 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Dec | 51 | 29 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Year | 69 | 45 | 46.5 | 75 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tye Rvr 1 SE, VA (720 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 Buckingham
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 170 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Buckingham: 139 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 6 floods, 6 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $952,000 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, 4 of 15. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 137 have had fewer than Buckingham.
March 24, 2012: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Buckingham — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall of 2 to 4 inches in several hours caused several small streams to flood including Greasy Creek southwest of Buckingham. After the flooding receded, the County Sheriff's Office said deputies found a deceased 61-year-old woman inside a pickup truck several days after she was reported missing.”
May 26, 2024: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Buckingham — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “Nelson County Sheriff confirmed one person died when thunderstorm winds downed a tree limb onto the vehicle they were sheltering in near Wingina.”
June 11, 2007: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Buckingham — 1 injured.
NWS: “One injury from a lightning strike.”
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
Buckingham County, which includes Buckingham, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 4 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 Buckingham County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.8 million a year, the 99th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.0 million (42%), 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.