NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Elliston, 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
11 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Elliston, Virginia since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 14 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 14
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Elliston
The strongest storm to pass near Elliston was an unnamed storm in 1896, a Category 1 hurricane with 76 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The record near Elliston begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 22 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 2 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 11 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site, 74% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Elliston. The highest rating among the 14 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 4, 1974, came within 13 miles. Of the 14, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2024. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 88% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Elliston. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 57 times since 1987, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Elliston has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 364 Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Elliston
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 71 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Elliston: 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 Elliston
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s3
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1974 | F2 | 13 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1953 | F2 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF1 | 10 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 31, 2021 | EF1 | 11 mi | 0.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 31, 2021 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF1 | 19 mi | 1.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF1 | 20 mi | 1.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 2003 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 30, 1987 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1978 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 2020 | EF0 | 23 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 14, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Elliston
The Storm Prediction Center has 57 hail reports within 10 miles of Elliston since 1987, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently July 6, 1995. The most recent report is from May 13, 2025. May has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Elliston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Blacksburg NWSO, VA, 10 miles west of Elliston at 2,103 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 42.8 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (21.4 of 42.8 inches). September has brought the most of the 11 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal September there has highs of 76°F and 3.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 24.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.8 inches is more than at 17 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (16%). Shawsville, 5 miles south, has its own station (Christiansburg, VA): 42.1 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 22 | 3.2 | 6 | 7.7 |
| Feb | 45 | 24 | 2.8 | 6 | 7.0 |
| Mar | 53 | 30 | 3.8 | 8 | 4.3 |
| Apr | 64 | 39 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.6 |
| May | 72 | 48 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 53 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 41 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 55 | 31 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 3.3 | 7 | 4.7 |
| Year | 63 | 41 | 42.8 | 82 | 24.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Blacksburg NWSO, VA (2,103 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 Elliston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 163 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Elliston: 97 thunderstorm wind reports, 28 floods, 24 flash floods, 13 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on April 11, 2024. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 213 have had fewer than Elliston.
July 3, 2013: flood 8 miles from the centre of Elliston — 1 killed.
August 29, 2021: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Elliston — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds knocked a tree down on a vehicle near the intersection of Northfork Road and Seneca Hollow Road. Two people were transported to the hospital with unknown injury severity.”
May 19, 2020: heavy rain event 10 miles from the centre of Elliston — $764,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Elliston's ZIP code 24087 have filed 40 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $254,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1985, with 10. 48% 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, 85 have fewer than Elliston.
Montgomery County, which includes Elliston, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms and Flooding, on April 4, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Montgomery County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.6 million a year, the 32nd highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.2 million (67%), 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 Elliston
- Shawsville, VA5 mi
- Blacksburg, VA10 mi
- Salem, VA10 mi
- Christiansburg, VA11 mi
- Roanoke, VA15 mi
- Callaway, VA17 mi
- Boones Mill, VA17 mi
- Riner, VA18 mi
- Radford, VA20 mi
- New Castle, VA20 mi
- Vinton, VA21 mi
- Daleville, VA22 mi
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