NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madison Heights, 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 Madison Heights, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 20 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 17
- Tornadoes
- 20
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Madison Heights
The strongest storm to pass near Madison Heights was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 89 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 12 miles. The record near Madison Heights begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 5 miles away. Of the 20 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Madison Heights has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 20 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 15, 2018, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on February 24, 2016, killed 1 person. Of the 20, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on May 27, 2022. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Madison Heights. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 76 times since 1974, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Madison Heights has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 364 Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Madison Heights
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 63 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 12 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 45 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Madison Heights: 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 Madison Heights
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s7(2 EF3+)
- 2000s6
- 1990s2
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s1(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF3 | 20 mi | 16.89 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF3 | 6 mi | 20.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 16, 1966 | F3 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2022 | EF2 | 12 mi | 6.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 11 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 11, 2019 | EF1 | 23 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 23 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF1 | 15 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 7 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 10 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1984 | F1 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 20, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Madison Heights
The Storm Prediction Center has 76 hail reports within 10 miles of Madison Heights since 1974, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 34 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently June 23, 2016. The most recent report is from May 13, 2025. May has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Madison Heights
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lynchburg #2, VA, 9 miles southwest of Madison Heights at 736 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 25°F. May is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 43.8 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (22.2 of 43.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 20 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 78°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 119 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.8 inches is more than at 31 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (28%). Amherst, 11 miles north, has its own station (Tye Rvr 1 SE, VA): 46.5 inches a year, 2.7 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 25 | 3.4 | 5 | 3.8 |
| Feb | 50 | 26 | 2.9 | 5 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 58 | 33 | 3.7 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 68 | 41 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 51 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 56 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 44 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 33 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 49 | 28 | 3.8 | 6 | 2.8 |
| Year | 67 | 44 | 43.8 | 72 | 12.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lynchburg #2, VA (736 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 Madison Heights
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 345 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madison Heights: 270 thunderstorm wind reports, 40 flash floods, 13 floods, 12 lightning strikes and 10 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $28.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 4, 2003. July has had the most flash floods, 15 of 40. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 284 have had fewer than Madison Heights.
May 4, 2021: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Madison Heights — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree directly upon an enclosed trailer. A 34 year old male was loading a lawn mower into the trailer at the time the tree fell, unfortunately, killing him instantly.”
July 3, 2023: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Madison Heights — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
August 2, 2018: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Madison Heights — $18.0 million 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 Madison Heights's ZIP code 24572 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $77,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 80% 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, 0 have fewer than Madison Heights.
Amherst County, which includes Madison Heights, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 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 Amherst County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.5 million a year, the 81st highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.4 million (68%), 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 Madison Heights
- Lynchburg, VA7 mi
- Amherst, VA11 mi
- Concord, VA11 mi
- Monroe, VA12 mi
- Forest, VA13 mi
- Rustburg, VA13 mi
- Spout Spring, VA14 mi
- Appomattox, VA17 mi
- Goode, VA18 mi
- Arrington, VA18 mi
- Evington, VA19 mi
- Gladys, VA22 mi
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