Lee County, Virginia severe weather history spans 252 recorded events between 1968 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 63.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,090 nationally and #60 in Virginia.
252
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Lee County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lee County, Virginia severe weather history averages 4.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 97 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 11 events fall before 1990 and 241 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $1.8M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Lee County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 161 | 0 | $663K | 78 | 1974–2026 |
| Hail | 62 | 0 | $10K | 5 | 1968–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $57K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $1.8M | F1 | 1974–2023 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 2009–2025 |
Decade by decade
Lee County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-05-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-03-02 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-03-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-06-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 8.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lee County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 2012 | Tornado | CAYLOR | 0 | 1 | $1.7M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The EF1 tornado with maximum winds at 110 mph started in Claiborne County, TN, then moved northeast into Lee County. The tornado had a maximum path width of 200 yards. In Lee County the damage included two houses destroyed, four houses damaged. About 20 barns and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed along with miles of agricultural fenceline damaged/destroyed. Residential losses total about $350,000, whereas agricultural property losses totaled $1.3 million. Many trees were downed along the path.||The combined tornado path for Claiborne and Lee Counties extended about 5.0 miles.
The EF1 tornado with maximum winds of 95 mph produced a damage path about 100 yards wide. The tornado occurred about three miles southeast of Jonesville, along the banks of the Powell River. A mobile home was pulled fifteen feet off its foundation and heavily damaged. Also, a camper was rolled 40 feet and several outbuildings were either heavily damaged or destroyed.
A NWS survey team found that a tornado touched down on the northwest side of a ridge line south of US Highway 23 near Highway 58 and ended before crossing US 23. The tornado crossed a ridge while uprooting trees before lifting near Old Ridge Road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
21,900
Population (ACS)
$99K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 4, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 1, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | 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 Lee County, Virginia?
252 events are on record between 1968 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lee County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 161 recorded events — 63.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lee County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lee County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lee County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lee County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lee County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 57 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lee 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
- Lancaster County 170
- Loudoun County 1,089
- King William County 195
- Louisa County 344
- King George County 257
- Lunenburg County 199
Cite this page
“Lee County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/lee-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.