NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Purcellville, 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
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Purcellville, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 100 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 100
- 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 Purcellville
The strongest storm to pass near Purcellville was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 30 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 13 miles. The record near Purcellville begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 64 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 25 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Purcellville has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 100 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 14 times; the most recent, on September 17, 2004, came within 19 miles. Of the 100, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 57 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Purcellville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 364 Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 74 times since 1968, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Purcellville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 72% of the 364 Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Purcellville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 13 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 17 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 30 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Purcellville: 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 Purcellville
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s15
- 2000s28
- 1990s25
- 1980s5
- 1970s5
- 1960s3
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 17 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 23 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 19 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1996 | F2 | 23 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 27, 1993 | F2 | 23 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F2 | 8 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 28, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F2 | 11 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 100, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Purcellville
The Storm Prediction Center has 74 hail reports within 10 miles of Purcellville since 1968, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 46 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 16, 2016. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. June has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Purcellville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Purcellville, VA, 1 mile east of Purcellville at 510 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 44.0 inches. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (23.4 of 44.0 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 30 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 115 nights a year. That 44.0 inches is more than at 34 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (31%). Bluemont, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Mt Wx, VA): 46.5 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 25 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 44 | 26 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 53 | 32 | 3.6 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 3.5 |
| May | 73 | 52 | 4.4 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 4.3 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 4.1 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 3.6 |
| Sep | 78 | 56 | 4.8 |
| Oct | 66 | 44 | 3.5 |
| Nov | 55 | 35 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 45 | 28 | 3.4 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 44.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Purcellville, VA (510 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 Purcellville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 438 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Purcellville: 349 thunderstorm wind reports, 62 floods and 27 flash floods. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 4, 2008. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 231 have had fewer than Purcellville.
May 14, 2002: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Purcellville — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
November 5, 2003: thunderstorm wind in Purcellville — 3 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Siding on a home was damaged and a shed was blown off its foundation.”
June 22, 2022: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Purcellville — $500,000 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
Loudoun County, which includes Purcellville, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 2, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Loudoun County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $60.7 million a year, the 4th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $37.5 million (62%), 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 Purcellville
- Round Hill, VA3 mi
- Hamilton, VA4 mi
- Waterford, VA6 mi
- Bluemont, VA9 mi
- Harpers Ferry, WV9 mi
- Lovettsville, VA9 mi
- Leesburg, VA9 mi
- Middleburg, VA11 mi
- Charles Town, WV12 mi
- Ranson, WV13 mi
- Brunswick, MD13 mi
- Berryville, VA13 mi
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