Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Buena Vista, VA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lexington, VA, 5 miles northwest of Buena Vista at 1,097 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 23°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.0 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (22.2 of 43.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 3.7 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 119 nights a year. Snowfall averages 13.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.0 inches is more than at 20 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (18%). Monroe, 12 miles southeast, has its own station (Lynchburg #2, VA): 43.8 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 87°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 165 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Buena Vista: 128 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 16 heavy rain events, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 6, 2022. January has had the most flash floods, 4 of 16. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 143 have had fewer than Buena Vista.

Flood insurance policyholders in Buena Vista's ZIP code 24416 have filed 296 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1985: 80 claims (27% of all) and $2.1 million, then Hurricane Fran in 1996 with 30 and Hurricane Isabel in 2003 with 16. The year with the most claims was 1995, with 97. 43% 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, 163 have fewer than Buena Vista.