NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Gretna, 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 Gretna, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 33 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 24
- Tornadoes
- 33
- 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 Gretna
The strongest storm to pass near Gretna was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 19 miles. The record near Gretna begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 19 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 5 systems. Of the 27 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Gretna has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 33 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on April 15, 2018; its path came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on April 27, 2011, killed 1 person. Of the 33, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 22 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on September 27, 2024. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Gretna. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 48 times since 1995, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Gretna has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 364 Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Gretna
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 69 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 19 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 54 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Gretna: 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 Gretna
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s5(1 EF3+)
- 2000s12
- 1990s4
- 1980s2
- 1970s4
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF3 | 25 mi | 20.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 18 mi | 18.1 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 6.85 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 22 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 25, 1977 | F2 | 4 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1964 | F2 | 6 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2024 | EF1 | 15 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2024 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 25, 2021 | EF1 | 22 mi | 2.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF1 | 18 mi | 16.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 2011 | EF1 | 17 mi | 2.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 33, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Gretna
The Storm Prediction Center has 48 hail reports within 10 miles of Gretna since 1995, made on 34 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 2, 2002. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Gretna
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chatham, VA, 12 miles southwest of Gretna 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 27 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (11); 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%). Hurt, 7 miles north, has its own station (Lynchburg Regional Airport, VA): 42.9 inches a year, 4.8 less 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 Gretna
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 161 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Gretna: 131 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 11 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on April 15, 2018. May has had the most flash floods, 8 of 16. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 143 have had fewer than Gretna.
May 31, 2019: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Gretna — 2 injured, $30,000 damage.
August 9, 2019: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Gretna — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Several large trees were blown down by severe thunderstorms winds. One of the downed trees was a large oak tree that fell into a single-wide mobile home, resulting in injury to a single occupant.”
May 31, 2019: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Gretna — $499,000 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 Gretna, 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 Gretna
- Hurt, VA7 mi
- Altavista, VA11 mi
- Lynch Station, VA12 mi
- Chatham, VA12 mi
- Huddleston, VA15 mi
- Blairs, VA17 mi
- Penhook, VA18 mi
- Evington, VA19 mi
- Nathalie, VA19 mi
- Gladys, VA19 mi
- Dry Fork, VA20 mi
- Moneta, VA22 mi
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