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Nelson; Albemarle; Greene; Madison; Rappahannock; Orange; Culpeper; Spotsylvania
Orange County, Virginia severe weather history spans 486 recorded events between 1965 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #924 nationally and #19 in Virginia.
486
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$4.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Orange County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Orange County, Virginia severe weather history averages 8.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 200 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 14 events fall before 1990 and 472 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $3.2M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Orange County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 283 | 0 | $895K | 70 | 1968–2026 |
| Flood | 93 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Hail | 53 | 0 | $3K | 2 | 1971–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 34 | 0 | $368K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 14 | 0 | $3.2M | F3 | 1965–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2003 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $101K | 0 | 2002–2021 |
Decade by decade
Orange County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-10-18 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-08-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-08-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-09-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-07-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Orange County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | THORNHILL | 0 | 1 | $10K |
| Jun 6, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | FLATRUN | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| Oct 18, 1990 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 19, 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
Tornado knocked down a path of trees threw Gordonsville. Route 33 east and Main Street were closed until trees could be cleared. Route 15 near Inwood was also closed for a while. Two cars were reported crushed. One horse was reported killed. Power lines and some street signs were torn down. Power was out to three-quarters of the town for four and a half hours. Minor damage occurred to a few houses. Several people reported seeing a funnel cloud.
A thunderstorm produced a second tornado in Rhodesville along Route 20 in eastern Orange County. A shed, a horse trailer, and a two silos were destroyed on one farm. A tree was thrown onto a house and a mobile home was demolished. The storm continued its northward and produced sporadic and less significant damage.
Numerous trees blew down southeast of Rapidan. Trees blew down near the intersection of VA-627 Clarks Mountain Road and VA-615 Rapidan Road, and near VA-697 Moormont Road. Trees blew down in the 8500 block of VA-628 Clifton Road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
37,822
Population (ACS)
$364K
Median home value
22
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 |
| Apr 2, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 11, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Orange 108
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Orange County, Virginia?
486 events are on record between 1965 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Orange County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 283 recorded events — 58.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Orange County?
15 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 Orange County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Orange County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Orange County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Orange County as very low risk, placing it in the 26 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Orange 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
- Nottoway County 249
- Page County 287
- Northumberland County 173
- Patrick County 421
- Northampton County 132
- Pittsylvania County 894
Cite this page
“Orange County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/orange-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.