NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rocky Mount, 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
16 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Rocky Mount, Virginia since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 25 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 15
- Tornadoes
- 25
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Rocky Mount
The strongest storm to pass near Rocky Mount was an unnamed storm in 1896, a Category 1 hurricane with 77 mph winds when its centre passed 50 miles away. The record near Rocky Mount begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 3 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 3 systems. Of the 16 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site, 74% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Rocky Mount. The strongest of the 25 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on April 19, 2019; its path came within 3 miles. Of the 25, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on September 27, 2024. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rocky Mount. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 96 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Rocky Mount has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 364 Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rocky Mount
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 50 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Rocky Mount: 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 Rocky Mount
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s3(1 EF3+)
- 2000s11
- 1990s3
- 1970s2
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF3 | 3 mi | 8.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2024 | EF2 | 23 mi | 6.85 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 19 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 9 mi | 8.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 9, 1996 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 1994 | F2 | 18 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 4, 1974 | F2 | 23 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1964 | F2 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 12, 1964 | F2 | 23 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1953 | F2 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF1 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2024 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 25, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rocky Mount
The Storm Prediction Center has 96 hail reports within 10 miles of Rocky Mount since 1956, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 51 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 4, 1993. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rocky Mount
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rocky Mt, VA, in Rocky Mount at 1,315 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 47°F and 26°F. September is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 49.3 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (25.6 of 49.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 5.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 104 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 49.3 inches is more than at 92 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (84%). Ferrum, 12 miles southwest, has its own station (Philpott Dam 2, VA): 47.5 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 26 | 3.9 | 7 | 3.6 |
| Feb | 51 | 27 | 3.1 | 6 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 59 | 34 | 4.0 | 7 | 2.5 |
| Apr | 70 | 42 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.2 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 60 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 56 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 44 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 34 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 50 | 29 | 4.1 | 7 | 1.4 |
| Year | 68 | 44 | 49.3 | 80 | 12.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rocky Mt, VA (1,315 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 Rocky Mount
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 305 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rocky Mount: 217 thunderstorm wind reports, 51 flash floods, 17 floods, 13 heavy rain events and 7 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 10, 2003. September has had the most flash floods, 12 of 51. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 305 have had fewer than Rocky Mount.
August 10, 2022: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Rocky Mount — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck a house on Double Branch Road. A female occupant inside the home was injured and transported to the hospital.”
June 17, 2022: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Rocky Mount — 1 injured, $500 damage.
NWS: “One tree was downed by thunderstorm winds on Lakewood Court and it struck and injured one person.”
June 16, 2022: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Rocky Mount — 1 injured.
NWS: “A person was struck by lightning on McNeil Mills Road.”
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
Franklin County, which includes Rocky Mount, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms and Flooding, on April 4, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Franklin County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.0 million a year, the 48th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.9 million (72%), 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 Rocky Mount
- Glade Hill, VA7 mi
- Wirtz, VA9 mi
- Boones Mill, VA10 mi
- Callaway, VA11 mi
- Ferrum, VA12 mi
- Penhook, VA14 mi
- Hardy, VA15 mi
- Bassett, VA17 mi
- Moneta, VA17 mi
- Goodview, VA18 mi
- Collinsville, VA18 mi
- Fieldale, VA19 mi
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