NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grundy, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Grundy, Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Hugo in 1989. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 4
- 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 Grundy
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Grundy; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. The record near Grundy begins with an unnamed storm in 1915; the most recent system was Hugo in 1989. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 2 systems. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site, 95% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Grundy. The strongest of the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on April 4, 1974; its path came within 13 miles. The most recent tornado was on May 8, 2009. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 99% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Grundy. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1977, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 364 Virginia cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Grundy.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Grundy
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Grundy: 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 Grundy
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1974 | F1 | 13 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2009 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.58 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 2009 | EF0 | 21 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1998 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 4 of 4, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grundy
The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Grundy since 1977, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 6, 1977. The most recent report is from April 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grundy
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grundy, VA, 2 miles southwest of Grundy at 1,157 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 24°F. July is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 46.9 inches over 94 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 112 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.9 inches is more than at 69 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (63%). Raven, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Richlands, VA): 44.8 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 24 | 3.3 | 8 | 6.2 |
| Feb | 47 | 27 | 3.3 | 7 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 56 | 32 | 4.0 | 8 | 2.6 |
| Apr | 67 | 40 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.2 |
| May | 74 | 50 | 4.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 5.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 63 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 56 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 44 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 33 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 46 | 28 | 3.7 | 8 | 2.4 |
| Year | 65 | 43 | 46.9 | 94 | 16.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grundy, VA (1,157 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 Grundy
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 108 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grundy: 81 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 flash floods, 5 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $8.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 63 mph, on February 11, 2009. July has had the most flash floods, 8 of 21. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 194 have had fewer than Grundy.
July 12, 2022: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Grundy — 1 injured, $1.8 million damage.
NWS: “Significant damage occurred within the northern portions of Buchanan County. Between 100 to 125 structures observed structural damage with over 2,000 power outages within the communities.”
June 13, 2021: thunderstorm wind in Grundy — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “One person sustained injuries near Grundy due to a downed tree.”
February 15, 2025: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Grundy — $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Flash flooding made numerous roads impassable, trapped residents, and impacted homes. By evening, catastrophic flooding occurred along Slate Creek Road and resulted in water rescues and evacuations.”
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 Grundy's ZIP code 24614 have filed 191 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1984: 92 claims (48% of all) and $677,000. 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, 155 have fewer than Grundy.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1984 | 92 | $677,000 |
Buchanan County, which includes Grundy, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 6 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms and Flooding, on April 4, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Buchanan County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.7 million a year, the 50th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.5 million (80%), 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 Grundy
- Oakwood, VA6 mi
- Vansant, VA8 mi
- Hurley, VA8 mi
- Raven, VA14 mi
- Haysi, VA14 mi
- Phelps, KY16 mi
- Elkhorn City, KY19 mi
- Honaker, VA19 mi
- Richlands, VA19 mi
- Cedar Bluff, VA23 mi
- Clintwood, VA24 mi
- Pounding Mill, VA25 mi
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