NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Danville, 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 Danville, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 43 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 24
- Tornadoes
- 43
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Danville
The strongest storm to pass near Danville was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 91 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 21 miles. The record near Danville begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 70 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 5 systems. Of the 27 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Danville has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 43 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on March 20, 1998; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 43, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 27 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on September 27, 2024. Danville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 364 Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 85 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Danville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 364 Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Danville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1970 | AlmaMay 26 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 70 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 21 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 57 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 39 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 Danville: 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 Danville
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s11
- 2000s9
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s1
- 1970s3
- 1960s2
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1998 | F3 | 20 mi | 12 mi | 2 / 27 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 22 mi | 18.1 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF2 | 9 mi | 6.85 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF2 | 11 mi | 32.75 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Aug 17, 1994 | F2 | 23 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jul 12, 1964 | F2 | 14 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2024 | EF1 | 23 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2024 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2022 | EF1 | 19 mi | 7.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 25, 2021 | EF1 | 16 mi | 2.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 43, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Danville
The Storm Prediction Center has 85 hail reports within 10 miles of Danville since 1956, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 50 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 6, 2022. The most recent report is from May 7, 2024. May has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Danville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Danville 2 SE, VA, 4 miles southeast of Danville at 392 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 27°F. July is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 47.1 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (24.5 of 47.1 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 27 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 4.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 52 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 87 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.6 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 47.1 inches is more than at 74 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (68%). Ringgold, 8 miles east, has its own station (Danville Regional Airport, VA): 43.8 inches a year, 3.3 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 27 | 3.7 | 6 | 1.5 |
| Feb | 54 | 29 | 3.1 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Mar | 62 | 35 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 72 | 44 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 54 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 63 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 68 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 66 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 59 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 46 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 35 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 30 | 3.4 | 6 | 1.5 |
| Year | 71 | 46 | 47.1 | 76 | 4.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Danville 2 SE, VA (392 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 Danville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 362 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Danville: 299 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 22 floods, 9 heavy rain events and 8 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $14.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on August 12, 2004. September has had the most flash floods, 7 of 24. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 213 have had fewer than Danville.
October 11, 2018: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Danville — 2 killed, $8.0 million damage.
NWS: “Danville City was included in a Presidential Major Disaster declaration due mainly to the severe flooding associated with Tropical Storm Michael. Catastrophic flash flooding occurred across the City of Danville as extreme rains of 4 to 8 inches in several hours fell.”
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Danville — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds downed multiple trees in the City of Danville. The bulk of these down trees fell along West Main Street and the Windsor Heights subdivision.”
September 22, 2018: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Danville — $2.8 million damage.
NWS: “There were numerous reports of flash flooding in Danville. A home was collapsed on Mt.”
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 Danville's 2 ZIP codes have filed 186 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $5.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Michael in 2018: 43 claims (23% of all) and $2.4 million. 34% 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, 153 have fewer than Danville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Michael2018 | 43 | $2.4 million |
Pittsylvania County, which includes Danville, 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 Danville
- Providence, NC7 mi
- Ringgold, VA8 mi
- Dry Fork, VA8 mi
- Pelham, NC8 mi
- Blairs, VA9 mi
- Ruffin, NC11 mi
- Blanch, NC13 mi
- Yanceyville, NC16 mi
- Chatham, VA16 mi
- Axton, VA16 mi
- Eden, NC19 mi
- Alton, VA21 mi
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