Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vinton, VA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Roanoke Regional Airport, VA, 7 miles northwest of Vinton at 1,175 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 47°F and 29°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 43.0 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (22.5 of 43.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 13 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 30 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 77 nights a year. Snowfall averages 14.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.0 inches is more than at 20 of the 109 Virginia stations used on this site (18%). Blue Ridge, 8 miles northeast, has its own station (Roanoke 8 N, VA): 45.7 inches a year, 2.7 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 88°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 483 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vinton: 330 thunderstorm wind reports, 74 flash floods, 44 floods, 24 heavy rain events and 11 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $10.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 7, 2006. July has had the most flash floods, 18 of 74. Of the 364 Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 325 have had fewer than Vinton.

Flood insurance policyholders in Vinton's ZIP code 24179 have filed 101 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1987: 26 claims (26% of all) and $454,000. The year with the most claims was 1992, with 24. 38% 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, 134 have fewer than Vinton.