NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Scottsville, 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
26 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Scottsville, Virginia since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 23 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 23
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Scottsville
The strongest storm to pass near Scottsville was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 2 hurricane with 96 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 14 miles. The record near Scottsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 8 miles away. The 1880s and the 1890s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 26 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Scottsville has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 69% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 23 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on September 30, 1959, came within 18 miles. Of the 23, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 16, 2022. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 69% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Scottsville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 30 times since 1983, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 364 Virginia cities, 70% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Scottsville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Scottsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 35 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 19 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 18 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 14 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 74 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 17 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Scottsville: 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 Scottsville
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s5
- 2000s8
- 1990s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
- 1950s3(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 1959 | F3 | 18 mi | 0.8 mi | 11 / 4 |
| Sep 30, 1959 | F3 | 11 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 2022 | EF1 | 20 mi | 21.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 17 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 2011 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2001 | F1 | 9 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 2000 | F1 | 16 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 23, 1983 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 1977 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1970 | F1 | 8 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 23, 1959 | F1 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 2022 | EF0 | 17 mi | 23.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 23, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Scottsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 30 hail reports within 10 miles of Scottsville since 1983, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 28, 2021. The most recent report is from April 15, 2024. June has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Scottsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Palmyra 3S, VA, 12 miles east of Scottsville at 410 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.7 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (23.2 of 43.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 26 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (11); a normal September there has highs of 78°F and 4.3 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 112 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.7 inches is more than at 30 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (28%). Charlottesville, 16 miles north, has its own station (Charlottesville 2W, VA): 48.6 inches a year, 4.9 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 25 | 3.1 | 6 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 49 | 26 | 2.8 | 6 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 57 | 32 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 68 | 41 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 51 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 57 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 44 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 58 | 33 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 49 | 28 | 3.6 | 6 | 2.0 |
| Year | 67 | 44 | 43.7 | 75 | 12.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Palmyra 3S, VA (410 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 Scottsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 210 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Scottsville: 147 thunderstorm wind reports, 39 floods, 14 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $877,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 9, 2003. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 122 have had fewer than Scottsville.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Scottsville — 1 killed, 3 injured.
NWS: “A female driver was fatally wounded when a tree fell onto her as she exited her car after encountering a fallen tree in the roadway. Three other males were also injured by the falling tree.”
May 9, 2003: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Scottsville — 1 killed, $350,000 damage.
July 26, 2021: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Scottsville — 2 injured.
NWS: “Lightning strikes an 18 year old individual and a 50 year old individual along Sharps Creek Road. Two injuries were reported as a result with one of the individuals receiving medical attention for burns to the leg.”
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 Scottsville's ZIP code 24590 have filed 66 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $798,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1985: 47 claims (71% of all) and $674,000. The year with the most claims was 1987, with 32. 74% 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, 113 have fewer than Scottsville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1985 | 47 | $674,000 |
Fluvanna County, which includes Scottsville, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 4 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, on March 11, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fluvanna County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.2 million a year, the 85th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.3 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 Scottsville
- Palmyra, VA10 mi
- Troy, VA16 mi
- Charlottesville, VA16 mi
- Keswick, VA17 mi
- Buckingham, VA17 mi
- Shipman, VA18 mi
- Dillwyn, VA19 mi
- Afton, VA21 mi
- Cumberland, VA23 mi
- Earlysville, VA24 mi
- Nellysford, VA24 mi
- Crozet, VA25 mi
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