NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Front Royal, 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
20 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Front Royal, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 52 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 17
- Tornadoes
- 52
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Front Royal
The strongest storm to pass near Front Royal was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 6 miles. The record near Front Royal begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 73 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 4 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 20 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Front Royal has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 52 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on September 24, 2001; its path came within 23 miles. Of the 52, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on May 30, 2025. Front Royal has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 364 Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 46 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Front Royal has more hail reports within 10 miles than 52% of the 364 Virginia cities.
Compare Front Royal's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Front Royal
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 34 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | overhead | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 6 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 53 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 34 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 Front Royal: 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 Front Royal
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s6
- 2000s22(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13
- 1980s2
- 1970s4
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2001 | F4 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 16 mi | 33.51 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 17 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 24 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1978 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 1975 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 4.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 2008 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 2005 | F1 | 16 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 9 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 9, 2003 | F1 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 52, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Front Royal
The Storm Prediction Center has 46 hail reports within 10 miles of Front Royal since 1960, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on August 15, 1977. The most recent report is from March 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Front Royal
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Front Royal, VA, 2 miles south of Front Royal at 930 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 24°F. September is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 43.7 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (23.6 of 43.7 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 101 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.7 inches is more than at 29 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (27%). Middletown, 9 miles northwest, has its own station (Star Tannery, VA): 40.0 inches a year, 3.7 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 24 | 2.9 | 6 | 4.7 |
| Feb | 47 | 26 | 2.5 | 5 | 9.4 |
| Mar | 54 | 33 | 3.8 | 7 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 74 | 51 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 64 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 62 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 56 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 45 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 35 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 47 | 28 | 3.1 | 6 | 4.8 |
| Year | 66 | 44 | 43.7 | 76 | 21.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Front Royal, VA (930 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 Front Royal
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 270 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Front Royal: 188 thunderstorm wind reports, 61 floods, 18 flash floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 7, 2023. July has had the most flash floods, 7 of 18. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 162 have had fewer than Front Royal.
June 4, 2008: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Front Royal — 2 injured, $22,000 damage.
NWS: “A local newspaper reported that downed trees destroyed a mobile home . Two minor injuries were also reported.”
June 15, 2000: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Front Royal — 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
NWS: “Trees were downed onto a house, barn, tent, and several roads.”
July 25, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Front Royal — $250,000 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 Front Royal's ZIP code 22630 have filed 337 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $6.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 112 claims (33% of all) and $2.4 million, then Hurricane Fran in 1996 with 107 and Hurricane Isabel in 2003 with 21. 72% 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, 167 have fewer than Front Royal.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 112 | $2.4 million |
| Hurricane Fran1996 | 107 | $3.1 million |
| Hurricane Isabel2003 | 21 | $186,000 |
Warren County, which includes Front Royal, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 2, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Warren County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.0 million a year, the 41st highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.0 million (77%), 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 Front Royal
- Linden, VA6 mi
- Middletown, VA9 mi
- Stephens City, VA11 mi
- Strasburg, VA11 mi
- Boyce, VA12 mi
- Maurertown, VA17 mi
- Marshall, VA17 mi
- Winchester, VA18 mi
- Woodstock, VA19 mi
- Berryville, VA19 mi
- Bluemont, VA19 mi
- Amissville, VA20 mi
All Virginia cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Front Royal with another place →