NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Victoria, 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
44 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Victoria, Virginia since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ophelia in 2023. Since 1950, 37 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 39
- Tornadoes
- 37
- 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 Victoria
The strongest storm to pass near Victoria was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 2 hurricane with 99 mph winds when its centre passed 64 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 5 miles. The record near Victoria begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Ophelia in 2023, a tropical storm 62 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems. Of the 44 systems, 10 have come since 2000. Victoria has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 78% of the 364 Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 37 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 22, 1983; its path came within 16 miles. Of the 37, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on April 19, 2019. Of the 364 Virginia cities, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Victoria. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 19 times since 1961, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 364 Virginia cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Victoria.
Compare Victoria's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Victoria
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | OpheliaSep 23 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 7 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 1 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1970 | AlmaMay 26 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1959 | CindyJul 10 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 10 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 20 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 6 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 19 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 11 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 40 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 5 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1883 | Unnamed 1883 stormSep 12 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 64 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 17 | 51 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Victoria: 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 Victoria
By decade
- 2010s9
- 2000s12
- 1990s3
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s4
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 1983 | F3 | 16 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 1993 | F2 | 6 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 1988 | F2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 13, 1983 | F2 | 15 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1974 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 2, 1966 | F2 | 14 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 2, 1966 | F2 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2018 | EF1 | 14 mi | 1.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 2017 | EF1 | 17 mi | 14.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF1 | 22 mi | 5.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 2011 | EF1 | in town | 16.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 2006 | F1 | 18 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 37, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Victoria
The Storm Prediction Center has 19 hail reports within 10 miles of Victoria since 1961, made on 16 separate days. Of these, 12 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 22, 1963. The most recent report is from April 7, 2020. April has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Victoria
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Pickett, VA, 16 miles east of Victoria at 330 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 27°F. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (24.3 of 46.9 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 44 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (18); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 30 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. Snowfall averages 3.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.9 inches is more than at 67 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (61%). Meherrin, 11 miles northwest, has its own station (Charlotte Court House, VA): 46.7 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 27 | 3.7 | 7 | 1.5 |
| Feb | 52 | 28 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 59 | 35 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 70 | 44 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 54 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 63 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 68 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 66 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 59 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 47 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 36 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 30 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.8 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 46.9 | 78 | 3.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Pickett, VA (330 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 Victoria
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 119 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Victoria: 91 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 heavy rain events, 5 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $946,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 62 mph, on May 25, 2017. July has had the most flash floods, 2 of 5. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 18 have had fewer than Victoria.
April 15, 2019: thunderstorm wind in Victoria — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “Multiple trees were downed on the west side of town. A tree fell onto a home resulting in a fatality.”
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Victoria — $245,000 damage.
NWS: “Trees were downed and blocking Route 723 in Lunenburg. Structural damage also occurred.”
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Victoria — $245,000 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
Lunenburg County, which includes Victoria, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 4 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms and Flooding, on April 4, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lunenburg County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.1 million a year, the 109th highest of 133 Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.2 million (29%), 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 Victoria
- Kenbridge, VA8 mi
- Meherrin, VA11 mi
- Keysville, VA13 mi
- Burkeville, VA14 mi
- Crewe, VA14 mi
- Blackstone, VA15 mi
- Drakes Branch, VA17 mi
- Chase City, VA18 mi
- South Hill, VA18 mi
- Brodnax, VA22 mi
- Jetersville, VA23 mi
- Charlotte Court House, VA23 mi
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