Virginia's Tornado History

Analysis by NOAA indicates that 2024 was the second-highest year for recorded tornadoes, with 1796 events causing over $25 billion in damages. Several states, including our neighbor, West Virginia, set new records for total tornadoes.

Most notably, there were 6 EF3 tropical cyclone tornadoes from four different storms. In the 29 years of the tropical cyclone tornado database (1995-2023), there were only 5 total EF3 tornadoes.

Hail size records were also broken. May had 470 2+ inch hail reports, surpassing the previous high of 316 in 2011. In addition, in March, the largest hailstone at 6 inches landed in Ada, OK, on March 14th, and a new May largest hailstone at 6.12 inches hit in Johnson City, TN, on the 9th.

What about Virginia?

While the majority of tornado damage in 2024 was in the Midwest and South, Virginia had only 14 tornados in 2024, causing $3.7 million in property damage and $30,000 in crop damage.

Virginia's Tornado History

Since 1950, there have been over 900 tornadoes in Virginia, with 94 of those occurring in one year. Here are the years with the most tornadoes and highest damage costs in number-of-events order:

Year	Number of Tornados	Direct Injury	Direct Fatality	Property Damage
2004	94	14	0	$70,355,250
2011	60	101	6	$32,856,000
2008	47	223	0	$47,314,000
2018	33	13	1	$26,427,000
2003	32	2	0	$731,000
2017	31	0	0	$9,994,000
1996	26	10	0	$5,415,000
2019	25	0	0	$2,208,000
1993	25	258	4	$73,915,500
2005	24	0	0	$2,202,000
1975	24	6	0	$807,750
2022	22	3	0	$2,428,000
2006	18	3	0	$424,500
2001	18	4	0	$3,429,600
2009	17	0	0	$1,053,000
1990	17	13	3	$15,805,250
2020	16	5	0	$22,219,500
1998	15	3	2	$2,360,000
2024	14	6	0	$3,728,670
2016	14	40	4	$24,482,000

Other Notable Years

Year	Number of Tornados	Direct Injury	Direct Fatality	Property Damage
1959	12	13	12	$907,500
2023	6	0	0	$20,075,000
1984	6	15	0	$33,000,000
1973	6	37	0	$25,027,530
1994	2	10	0	$50,500,000

What 2025 May Hold

Severe weather in 2024 gradually ramps up from March through May. AccuWeather is predicting between 250 and 350 tornadoes in May alone. For the year as a whole, 1,300 to 1,450 are predicted, compared to a historical average of 1,225. Analysts also believe the trend toward higher wind reports (75+ mph) will continue, causing more damage to property and crops. Hopefully, the lower-than-historical-loss of life trend will continue as well.

If you haven't done so already, make sure you have a safety plan in place and an emergency severe weather kit ready. While most of the tornadoes will be in the central and southern U.S., they can hit anytime and anywhere in the country - and Virginia is not immune, as history shows.

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Sources: Newsleader, USA Today, NOAA, AccuWeather, Carrier Management