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Madison County, Virginia severe weather history spans 367 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,394 nationally and #30 in Virginia.
367
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Madison County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Madison County, Virginia severe weather history averages 5.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 133 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 361 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Madison County, Virginia record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $645K 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 Madison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 178 | 0 | $502K | 70 | 1974–2025 |
| Flood | 94 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 44 | 1 | $645K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 24 | 0 | $61K | 2.75 | 1998–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 14 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2003 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $573K | F2 | 1960–2005 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2000–2003 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2000 |
Decade by decade
Madison County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-03-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-09-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-05-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-08-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-11-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Madison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2018 | Flash Flood | SYRIA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two women attempted to cross the swollen Rose River at Graves Mountain Lodge in an ATV. When one of the women got out to check on the water, she was knocked off her feet and swept away. The other woman was uninjured and rescued.
A thunderstorm that moved into Madison County from Greene County produced tornado damage near Hood. A number of homes were damaged. One aluminum garage was destroyed and a rock chimney was topped off. The tornado remained on the ground for several miles and tracked northward into the higher terrain of western Madison County. Several large areas of mature mixed forest were almost completely leveled in the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area and the Shenandoah National Park.
After a survey by National Weather Service meteorologists, evidence of a brief F0 tornado touchdown was found just east of Haywood near the intersection of Routes 609 and 602 in north-central Madison County. Damage was mainly to about a dozen trees, which were toppled or snapped. Some wires were also brought down.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,044
Population (ACS)
$370K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Oct 1, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR |
| Mar 11, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | 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 Madison County, Virginia?
367 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $1.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Madison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 178 recorded events — 48.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Madison County?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Madison County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Madison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Madison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Madison County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Madison 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
- Lunenburg County 199
- Mathews County 124
- Louisa County 344
- Mecklenburg County 357
- Loudoun County 1,089
- Middlesex County 169
Cite this page
“Madison County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/madison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.