NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Unionville, 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
28 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Unionville, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 67 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 25
- Tornadoes
- 67
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Unionville
The strongest storm to pass near Unionville was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 94 mph winds when its centre passed 41 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 11 miles. The record near Unionville begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 23 miles away. The 1890s and the 1940s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 28 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Unionville has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 33% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 67 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on September 24, 2001; its path came within 24 miles. Of the 67, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Unionville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 364 Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 35 times since 1971, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 364 Virginia cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Unionville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Unionville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 11 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 23 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 14 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 41 mi | Category 1 (94 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Unionville: 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 Unionville
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s10
- 2000s27(2 EF3+)
- 1990s13(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2001 | F4 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F3 | 21 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 18, 1990 | F3 | 6 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 21, 1976 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 23 mi | 3.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 3 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 8, 2004 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 1983 | F2 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 12, 1976 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 1965 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1962 | F2 | 4 mi | 22.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 67, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Unionville
The Storm Prediction Center has 35 hail reports within 10 miles of Unionville since 1971, made on 20 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on September 6, 2012. The most recent report is from August 7, 2023. June has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Unionville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Piedmont Rsch Stn, VA, 11 miles west of Unionville at 520 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 25°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 43.8 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (23.8 of 43.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 28 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 79°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 92 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.8 inches is more than at 31 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (28%). Locust Grove, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Fredericksburg Sewage, VA): 43.4 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 25 | 2.9 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Feb | 48 | 28 | 2.6 | 5 | 5.6 |
| Mar | 56 | 34 | 3.6 | 6 | 2.7 |
| Apr | 67 | 44 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.1 |
| May | 74 | 54 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 67 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 65 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 59 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 46 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 37 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 48 | 29 | 3.4 | 6 | 3.2 |
| Year | 66 | 46 | 43.8 | 72 | 16.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Piedmont Rsch Stn, VA (520 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 Unionville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 272 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Unionville: 195 thunderstorm wind reports, 62 floods, 13 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $656,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 30, 2019. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 13. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 114 have had fewer than Unionville.
April 6, 2023: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Unionville — 1 killed, 1 injured.
December 31, 2024: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Unionville — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “A large tree blew down onto an occupied vehicle in the 17000 block of VA-669 Marquis Road.”
August 11, 2021: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Unionville — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck a house causing significant structural damage in the 11500 block of VA-669 Marquis 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
Orange County, which includes Unionville, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, on March 11, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Orange County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.1 million a year, the 47th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.4 million (49%), 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 Unionville
- Rhoadesville, VA5 mi
- Orange, VA9 mi
- Locust Grove, VA10 mi
- Spotsylvania, VA13 mi
- Mineral, VA16 mi
- Culpeper, VA16 mi
- Partlow, VA17 mi
- Zion Crossroads, VA17 mi
- Louisa, VA18 mi
- Bumpass, VA20 mi
- Remington, VA21 mi
- Fredericksburg, VA23 mi
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