NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Stephenson, 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
23 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Stephenson, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 55 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 20
- Tornadoes
- 55
- 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 Stephenson
The strongest storm to pass near Stephenson was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 4 miles. The record near Stephenson begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 62 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 23 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Stephenson has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 55 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 6 times; the most recent, on September 17, 2004, came within 3 miles. Of the 55, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Stephenson has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 60% of the 364 Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 98 times since 1960, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Stephenson has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 364 Virginia cities.
Compare Stephenson's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Stephenson
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 34 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 4 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 51 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 25 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 Stephenson: 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 Stephenson
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s5
- 2000s17
- 1990s17
- 1980s2
- 1970s4
- 1960s3
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 10 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 3 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F2 | 17 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 4, 1975 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1961 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 8, 2024 | EF1 | 16 mi | 4.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 3, 2021 | EF1 | 14 mi | 1.81 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 8, 2014 | EF1 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 2008 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 8 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 55, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Stephenson
The Storm Prediction Center has 98 hail reports within 10 miles of Stephenson since 1960, made on 62 separate days. Of these, 63 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on April 23, 1999. The most recent report is from March 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Stephenson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Winchester 7 SE, VA, 3 miles south of Stephenson at 680 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 21°F. September is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 39.9 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (21.9 of 39.9 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 23 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 4.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. That 39.9 inches is more than at 4 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (4%). Winchester, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Winchester, VA): 40.7 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 21 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Feb | 45 | 23 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Mar | 53 | 29 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 66 | 38 | 3.2 | 7 |
| May | 74 | 49 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 58 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 63 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 61 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Sep | 79 | 54 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 67 | 41 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Nov | 56 | 32 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Dec | 46 | 25 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Year | 65 | 41 | 39.9 | 75 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Winchester 7 SE, VA (680 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 Stephenson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 401 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Stephenson: 295 thunderstorm wind reports, 92 floods, 12 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 26, 1997. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 101 have had fewer than Stephenson.
May 16, 2014: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Stephenson — 1 killed, 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “Old Charles Town Road was flooded at Opequon Creek.”
July 28, 1997: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Stephenson — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
July 28, 2023: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Stephenson — 1 injured, $75,000 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
Frederick County, which includes Stephenson, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 2, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Frederick County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.0 million a year, the 26th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.7 million (64%), 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 Stephenson
- Clear Brook, VA3 mi
- Winchester, VA6 mi
- Bunker Hill, WV7 mi
- Berryville, VA8 mi
- Inwood, WV10 mi
- Gerrardstown, WV10 mi
- Stephens City, VA12 mi
- Kearneysville, WV12 mi
- Boyce, VA12 mi
- Charles Town, WV13 mi
- Gore, VA14 mi
- Ranson, WV14 mi
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