NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hanover, 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
47 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Hanover, Virginia since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 73 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 43
- Tornadoes
- 73
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Hanover
The strongest storm to pass near Hanover was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 2 hurricane with 97 mph winds when its centre passed 12 miles away. The record near Hanover begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 43 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems. Of the 47 systems, 10 have come since 2000. Hanover has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 69% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 73 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on February 24, 2016, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 1, 1998, killed 2 people. Of the 73, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Hanover has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 76% of the 364 Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1977, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Hanover has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 364 Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hanover
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 12 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 7 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | GastonAug 30 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1963 | Unnamed 1963 stormJun 3 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 27 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 21 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 23 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | overhead | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 19 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 75 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 48 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 12 mi | Category 2 (97 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 17 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hanover: 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 Hanover
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s19(1 EF3+)
- 2000s26
- 1990s5(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s5
- 1960s2
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 1998 | F3 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 1990 | F3 | 16 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF3 | 19 mi | 30.34 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Sep 17, 2018 | EF2 | 21 mi | 7.5 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 1, 1998 | F2 | 11 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 29, 1984 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 24, 1969 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1951 | F2 | 12 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Aug 8, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2018 | EF1 | 16 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2018 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 2011 | EF1 | 20 mi | 9.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 73, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hanover
The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Hanover since 1977, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 5, 2004. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. June has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hanover
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ashland Hanover Co Municipal Airport, VA, 6 miles southwest of Hanover at 205 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 47°F and 28°F. August is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 45.8 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (24.1 of 45.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 47 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (15); a normal September there has highs of 81°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 43 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 88 nights a year. That 45.8 inches is more than at 55 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (50%). Ashland, 7 miles west, has its own station (Ashland, VA): 45.3 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 28 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Feb | 51 | 30 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Mar | 59 | 36 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Apr | 70 | 45 | 3.4 | 7 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Jul | 89 | 68 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Aug | 87 | 66 | 4.9 | 6 |
| Sep | 81 | 59 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Oct | 70 | 48 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Nov | 60 | 38 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 51 | 31 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Year | 69 | 47 | 45.8 | 73 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ashland Hanover Co Municipal Airport, VA (205 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 Hanover
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 206 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hanover: 150 thunderstorm wind reports, 26 flash floods, 23 heavy rain events, 4 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $606,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 10, 2013. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 224 have had fewer than Hanover.
December 17, 2000: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Hanover — 2 injured, $5,000 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
Hanover County, which includes Hanover, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 4 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, on March 11, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hanover County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $28.5 million a year, the 17th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.4 million (54%), 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 Hanover
- Ashland, VA7 mi
- Mechanicsville, VA8 mi
- Aylett, VA9 mi
- Glen Allen, VA12 mi
- Highland Springs, VA15 mi
- Richmond, VA15 mi
- Ruther Glen, VA16 mi
- Milford, VA16 mi
- Sandston, VA17 mi
- King William, VA19 mi
- Rockville, VA19 mi
- Montpelier, VA20 mi
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