NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Nathalie, 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
31 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Nathalie, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 28
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Nathalie
The strongest storm to pass near Nathalie was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 50 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Nathalie begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 69 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems. Of the 31 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Nathalie has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on February 24, 2016, came within 21 miles. Of the 35, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 20 have come since 2000. April and September have had the most tornadoes, 6 each. The most recent tornado was on September 4, 2025. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Nathalie. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 37 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 364 Virginia cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Nathalie.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Nathalie
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 50 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 20 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | overhead | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 35 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Nathalie: 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 Nathalie
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s9(1 EF3+)
- 2000s6
- 1990s4
- 1980s1
- 1970s4
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF3 | 21 mi | 16.89 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Mar 24, 1969 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 2 mi | 18.1 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Nov 2, 2018 | EF2 | 11 mi | 1.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 26.24 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Oct 27, 2010 | EF2 | 25 mi | 3.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 1983 | F2 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1977 | F2 | 19 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1964 | F2 | 24 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1957 | F2 | 15 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 2025 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Nathalie
The Storm Prediction Center has 37 hail reports within 10 miles of Nathalie since 1958, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 13 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 21, 1970. The most recent report is from June 4, 2016. May has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Nathalie
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brookneal, VA, 9 miles north of Nathalie at 408 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 46.0 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (23.6 of 46.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 31 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (12); a normal September there has highs of 81°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.0 inches is more than at 57 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (52%). Halifax, 12 miles south, has its own station (S Boston, VA): 46.5 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 24 | 3.7 | 7 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 52 | 26 | 2.8 | 6 | 2.3 |
| Mar | 60 | 32 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 71 | 42 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 52 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 60 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 65 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 64 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 56 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 43 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 32 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 51 | 27 | 3.7 | 7 | 1.5 |
| Year | 69 | 44 | 46.0 | 78 | 7.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brookneal, VA (408 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 Nathalie
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 132 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Nathalie: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods, 9 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 9, 2003. September has had the most flash floods, 4 of 11. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 81 have had fewer than Nathalie.
June 18, 2019: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Nathalie — 1 injured, $300 damage.
September 17, 2018: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Nathalie — $431,000 damage.
May 9, 2003: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Nathalie — $300,000 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
Halifax County, which includes Nathalie, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 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 Halifax County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.9 million a year, the 65th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.5 million (51%), 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 Nathalie
- Brookneal, VA10 mi
- Halifax, VA12 mi
- Gladys, VA15 mi
- South Boston, VA17 mi
- Gretna, VA19 mi
- Hurt, VA19 mi
- Altavista, VA21 mi
- Charlotte Court House, VA21 mi
- Rustburg, VA24 mi
- Drakes Branch, VA25 mi
- Lynch Station, VA25 mi
- Blairs, VA26 mi
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