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Amherst County, Virginia severe weather history spans 321 recorded events between 1965 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 62.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,660 nationally and #40 in Virginia.
321
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$6.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Amherst County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Amherst County, Virginia severe weather history averages 5.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 149 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 10 events fall before 1990 and 311 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Amherst County, Virginia record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.4M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Amherst County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 200 | 1 | $794K | 65 | 1965–2025 |
| Hail | 69 | 0 | $300 | 2 | 1974–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 0 | $915K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Lightning | 6 | 0 | $320K | 0 | 2001–2015 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $4.4M | F0 | 1976–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2020 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $3K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2021–2021 |
Decade by decade
Amherst County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-04-15 | EF3 | 0 | 12 | 20.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-04-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-07-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Amherst County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | MONROE | 1 | 0 | $15K |
| Apr 15, 2018 | Tornado | DILLARD | 0 | 7 | $4.3M |
| Aug 11, 2001 | Lightning | AMHERST | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree directly upon an enclosed trailer. A 34 year old male was loading a lawn mower into the trailer at the time the tree fell, unfortunately, killing him instantly. Damage values are estimated.
The Lynchburg News and Advance along with the Amherst Fire and Rescue Department reported that lightning struck and sparked a fire at a home on Gun Mountain Drive near Amherst. The home was completely destroyed by the fire. Nine residents of the home were completely displaced as a result.
At 6:38 PM EST, a weak tornado touched down on the north side of Piney Mountain and just west of Indian Creek Road in a forested area about three miles west-northwest of Lowesville. It tracked toward the northwest and lifted at 6:41 PM EST about four miles west-northwest of Lowesville. The tornado only uprooted trees during its time on the ground.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
31,485
Population (ACS)
$212K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| 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 |
| Jul 27, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Amherst County, Virginia?
321 events are on record between 1965 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $6.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Amherst County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 200 recorded events — 62.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Amherst County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 2 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Amherst County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Amherst County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Amherst County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Amherst County as very low risk, placing it in the 21 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Amherst 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
- Amelia County 242
- Appomattox County 269
- Alleghany County 179
- Arlington County 251
- Albemarle County 845
- Augusta County 535
Cite this page
“Amherst County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/amherst-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.