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Caroline County, Virginia severe weather history spans 300 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 65.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,782 nationally and #44 in Virginia.
300
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$1.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Caroline County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Caroline County, Virginia severe weather history averages 4.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 96 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 281 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $785K in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Caroline County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 197 | 0 | $785K | 65 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 32 | 0 | $35K | 4 | 1958–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 30 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $657K | F2 | 1975–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $122K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Caroline County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-04-01 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-08-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 17.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-07-08 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-08-12 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-03-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Caroline County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 2001 | Lightning | BOWLING GREEN | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 24, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | PORT ROYAL | 0 | 1 | $20K |
| Apr 2, 1998 | Tornado | RUTHER GLEN | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| Aug 12, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| Jul 8, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Significant damage occurred across the central portions of the county from severe winds. Numerous trees were downed in Bowling Green and Milford. In Bowling Green, most of the damage was along West Broaddus Avenue and a mile to the west. A few trees were downed onto homes with significant roof damage. In Milford, numerous trees were downed along Baltimore Road. One tree fell onto a home, another onto a garage, and a third onto a shed.
An EF0 tornado tracked from King and Queen county into Caroline county. The tornado struck a farm in Tignor at the intersection of Sparta Road and Tignor Road (Root Swamp Road becomes Tignor Road). Several outbuildings were heavily damaged or destroyed. One silo was damaged along with 3 tractors. The tornado dissipated just north of the farm.
Softball size hail was reported near Fort A.P. Hill. The hail stone was measured approximately 15 minutes after the hail core passed over this location. A picture from another spotter corroborated the increased hail size.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
32,098
Population (ACS)
$308K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Mar 11, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| May 10, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Apr 2, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 11, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Caroline County, Virginia?
300 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Caroline County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 197 recorded events — 65.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Caroline County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Caroline County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Caroline County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Caroline County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Caroline County as very low risk, placing it in the 21 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Caroline County, Virginia severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Campbell County 600
- Carroll County 366
- Charles City County 116
- Buckingham County 398
- Charlotte County 359
- Buchanan County 196
Cite this page
“Caroline County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/caroline-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.