NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chatham, 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
24 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Chatham, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 37 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 21
- Tornadoes
- 37
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Chatham
The strongest storm to pass near Chatham was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 91 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 25 miles. The record near Chatham begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 23 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 5 systems. Of the 24 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Chatham has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 37 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on April 19, 2019; its path came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on April 27, 2011, killed 1 person. Of the 37, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 6 each. The most recent tornado was on September 27, 2024. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Chatham. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Chatham has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 364 Virginia cities.
Compare Chatham's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Chatham
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 74 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 25 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 60 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Chatham: 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 Chatham
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s7(1 EF3+)
- 2000s11
- 1990s7
- 1980s1
- 1970s4
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF3 | 23 mi | 8.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 20 mi | 18.1 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF2 | 3 mi | 6.85 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 17, 1994 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jun 25, 1977 | F2 | 16 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1964 | F2 | 10 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF1 | 13 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2024 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 25, 2021 | EF1 | 20 mi | 2.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF1 | 8 mi | 16.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 2011 | EF1 | 8 mi | 2.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 37, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chatham
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Chatham since 1963, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 2, 2002. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chatham
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chatham, VA, 3 miles southeast of Chatham at 647 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 47°F and 24°F. September is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 47.7 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (24.5 of 47.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 24 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 5.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 5.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.7 inches is more than at 81 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (74%). Penhook, 13 miles northwest, has its own station (Rocky Mt, VA): 49.3 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 24 | 4.2 | 7 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 51 | 26 | 2.8 | 6 | 1.6 |
| Mar | 59 | 32 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Apr | 69 | 41 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 51 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 60 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 56 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 43 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 32 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 50 | 27 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.3 |
| Year | 68 | 43 | 47.7 | 82 | 5.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chatham, VA (647 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 Chatham
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 242 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chatham: 210 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 floods, 6 heavy rain events, 5 flash floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $948,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 12, 2003. August has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 18 have had fewer than Chatham.
August 9, 2019: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Chatham — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Chatham — $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
Pittsylvania County, which includes Chatham, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 7 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 Pittsylvania County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.5 million a year, the 33rd highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.3 million (75%), 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 Chatham
- Dry Fork, VA9 mi
- Blairs, VA9 mi
- Gretna, VA12 mi
- Penhook, VA13 mi
- Danville, VA16 mi
- Axton, VA18 mi
- Hurt, VA18 mi
- Ringgold, VA19 mi
- Huddleston, VA19 mi
- Glade Hill, VA21 mi
- Lynch Station, VA21 mi
- Altavista, VA22 mi
All Virginia cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Chatham with another place →