NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chantilly, 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 Chantilly, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 96 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 96
- 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 Chantilly
The strongest storm to pass near Chantilly was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 15 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 3 miles. The record near Chantilly begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 60 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 25 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Chantilly has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 96 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on September 24, 2001; its path came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 5, 1979, killed 1 person. Of the 96, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Chantilly has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 364 Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 139 times since 1961, with stones up to 5 inches. Chantilly has more hail reports within 10 miles than 92% of the 364 Virginia cities.
Compare Chantilly's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Chantilly
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 3 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 32 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 15 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Chantilly: 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 Chantilly
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s22
- 2000s25(1 EF3+)
- 1990s21
- 1980s7
- 1970s4(2 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2001 | F4 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F3 | 13 mi | 17.9 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 1, 1973 | F3 | 10 mi | 9.8 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 3 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 14 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1996 | F2 | 4 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 27, 1993 | F2 | 12 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 13, 1983 | F2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 28, 1981 | F2 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F2 | 10 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 96, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chantilly
The Storm Prediction Center has 139 hail reports within 10 miles of Chantilly since 1961, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 107 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5 inches, fell on July 2, 1968. The most recent report is from August 29, 2024. May has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chantilly
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Washington Dc Dulles Airport, VA, 3 miles north of Chantilly at 290 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 25°F. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 43.2 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (22.7 of 43.2 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 33 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.2 inches is more than at 22 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (20%). Reston, 8 miles northeast, has its own station (Vienna, VA): 43.5 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 88°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Washington, DC, 25 miles east, averaged 84°F in July and 39°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to August. Sea level at the Washington tide gauge, 25 miles from Chantilly, has risen 1.40 ± 0.05 inches per decade from 1924 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 14.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 84 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 25 | 2.9 | 6 | 6.9 | 39 |
| Feb | 46 | 27 | 2.6 | 6 | 7.0 | 41 |
| Mar | 55 | 34 | 3.5 | 7 | 3.9 | 50 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.1 | 60 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 | 69 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 | 77 |
| Jul | 88 | 67 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 | 84 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 | 82 |
| Sep | 79 | 58 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Oct | 68 | 45 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 | 66 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.3 | 54 |
| Dec | 47 | 29 | 3.3 | 6 | 2.8 | 42 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 43.2 | 74 | 21.0 | 62 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Washington Dc Dulles Airport, VA (290 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Washington, DC, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Chantilly
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 646 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chantilly: 408 thunderstorm wind reports, 143 floods, 93 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $8.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on September 2, 2019. July has had the most flash floods, 36 of 93. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 330 have had fewer than Chantilly.
July 25, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Chantilly — 1 killed.
July 27, 2008: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Chantilly — 3 injured, $5,000 damage.
July 29, 2023: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Chantilly — $3.0 million 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Chantilly's 2 ZIP codes have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2003, and were paid $9,860 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 183 Virginia cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 10 have fewer than Chantilly.
Fairfax County, which includes Chantilly, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 5 snowstorms, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 2, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fairfax County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes; Relatively Low for tornadoes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $219.1 million a year, the highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $154.7 million (71%), 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.