NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Lee, 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
53 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Fort Lee, Virginia since 1851, 6 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ophelia in 2023. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 6
- Tropical storms
- 47
- Tornadoes
- 84
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Fort Lee
The strongest storm to pass near Fort Lee was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 2 hurricane with 98 mph winds when its centre passed 14 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1876, whose centre came within 3 miles. The record near Fort Lee begins with an unnamed storm in 1854; the most recent system was Ophelia in 2023, a tropical storm 66 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 8 systems. Of the 53 systems, 11 have come since 2000. Fort Lee has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 82% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 84 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on August 6, 1993; its path came within 1 mile, and it killed 4 people. Of the 84, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on November 11, 2022. Fort Lee has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 364 Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 102 times since 1972, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Fort Lee has more hail reports within 10 miles than 85% of the 364 Virginia cities.
Compare Fort Lee's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fort Lee
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | OpheliaSep 23 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 12 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 7 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | GastonAug 31 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1997 | DannyJul 24 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1970 | AlmaMay 27 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1963 | Unnamed 1963 stormJun 3 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 14 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | CindyJul 10 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 65 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 34 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 20 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 6 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 23 | 37 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 19 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 16 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 52 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 23 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormSep 10 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 14 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 17 | 3 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 25 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 18 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 27 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 10 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fort Lee: 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 Fort Lee
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s18
- 2000s23
- 1990s11(2 EF3+)
- 1980s13(3 EF3+)
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s3
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 1993 | F4 | 1 mi | 1 mi | 4 / 246 |
| May 4, 1990 | F3 | 4 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 14, 1986 | F3 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1984 | F3 | 5 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 15 |
| May 8, 1984 | F3 | 4 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1978 | F3 | 18 mi | 35.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 17, 2018 | EF2 | 18 mi | 7.5 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF2 | 18 mi | 3.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 1993 | F2 | 7 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1990 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 14, 1986 | F2 | 3 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 14, 1986 | F2 | 12 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 84, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Lee
The Storm Prediction Center has 102 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Lee since 1972, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 69 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 15, 2005. The most recent report is from June 8, 2023. April and June have the most reports, 24 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Lee
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Petersburg, VA, 2 miles west of Fort Lee at 19 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 28°F. August is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 47.0 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (25.4 of 47.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 53 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (22); a normal September there has highs of 82°F and 4.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 44 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 85 nights a year. That 47.0 inches is more than at 71 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (65%). Prince George, 3 miles east, has its own station (Hopewell, VA): 50.1 inches a year, 3.1 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 28 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Feb | 52 | 29 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Mar | 60 | 36 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 70 | 46 | 3.6 | 7 |
| May | 78 | 55 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jun | 86 | 64 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 89 | 69 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Aug | 87 | 67 | 5.3 | 7 |
| Sep | 82 | 61 | 4.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 72 | 48 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 62 | 37 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Dec | 53 | 31 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Year | 70 | 48 | 47.0 | 78 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Petersburg, VA (19 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 Fort Lee
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 518 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Lee: 285 thunderstorm wind reports, 121 flash floods, 85 heavy rain events, 21 floods and 6 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $6.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on July 6, 2011. July has had the most flash floods, 62 of 121. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 346 have had fewer than Fort Lee.
July 15, 2025: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Fort Lee — $4.8 million damage.
October 7, 2006: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Fort Lee — $425,000 damage.
July 15, 2025: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Fort Lee — $165,000 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
Prince George County, which includes Fort Lee, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on May 10, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Prince George County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hail, inland flooding and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.1 million a year, the 72nd highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (38%), 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 Fort Lee
- Prince George, VA3 mi
- Colonial Heights, VA4 mi
- Hopewell, VA4 mi
- Petersburg, VA5 mi
- Chester, VA8 mi
- Disputanta, VA10 mi
- Sutherland, VA12 mi
- Chesterfield, VA17 mi
- Charles City, VA17 mi
- Dinwiddie, VA17 mi
- Church Road, VA18 mi
- North Chesterfield, VA18 mi
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