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Dinwiddie County, Virginia severe weather history spans 244 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 60.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,145 nationally and #63 in Virginia.
244
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
270
Direct injuries
$56.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Dinwiddie County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dinwiddie County, Virginia severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 84 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 14 events fall before 1990 and 230 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Dinwiddie County, Virginia record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $52.5M 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 Dinwiddie County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 148 | 0 | $601K | 70 | 1956–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 29 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 27 | 1 | $2.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 21 | 0 | $10K | 2.75 | 1956–2023 |
| Tornado | 12 | 4 | $52.5M | F4 | 1975–2022 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2025 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $23K | 0 | 2006–2019 |
Decade by decade
Dinwiddie County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-10-14 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-05-22 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-08-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 38.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-16 | EF1 | 0 | 5 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-04-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-03-03 | EF1 | 0 | 17 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-12-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-03-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dinwiddie County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 1993 | Tornado | Petersburg | 4 | 246 | $50.0M |
| Aug 30, 2004 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $2.0M |
| Mar 3, 1999 | Tornado | JACK | 0 | 17 | $150K |
| Apr 16, 2011 | Tornado | DEWITT | 0 | 5 | $1.5M |
| May 8, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado path started on Doyle Road west of Glebe Road and then tracked east-northeast to the Five Forks area of Dinwiddie county. Hundreds of trees were either downed or snapped off. Numerous power lines were also downed, and there were several homes and outbuildings with minor to moderate damage. Most significant damage was on Patillo Road at Wooded Lane, and on Wilkinson Road near Shannon Drive.
Tornado tracked from Brunswick county into Dinwiddie county. The tornado continued north northeast into Dinwiddie county along Old White Oak Road. It crossed Old White Oak road near Route 40, then continued north northeast before a visible damage path |ended just north of Lew Jones Road. Numerous trees were uprooted or sheared off, and there was significant damage to a few homes and one large shed was destroyed. Also, there was extensive crop damage, as well as damage to farm equipment and land damage.
Initial damage, mainly to trees, began in the Fort Fisher area. The tornado then proceded north-northeast into the Chaparral Steel Construction site, where it destroyed 3 construction trailers/mobile homes and damaged 10 to 12 others. In addition, 2 vehicles were overturned, with several others damaged by debris. An empty grain bin was lifted off its foundation and tossed 100 feet into an adjacent pond, about one-quarter mile from the major trailer damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
28,191
Population (ACS)
$258K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| 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 |
| Dec 18, 2018 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM MICHAEL | DR |
| Sep 11, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dinwiddie County, Virginia?
244 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $56.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dinwiddie County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 148 recorded events — 60.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dinwiddie County?
13 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 Dinwiddie County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dinwiddie County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dinwiddie County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dinwiddie County as very low risk, placing it in the 19 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dinwiddie 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
- Dickenson County 192
- Cumberland County 157
- Essex County 170
- Culpeper County 481
- Fairfax County 1,489
- Craig County 97
Cite this page
“Dinwiddie County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/dinwiddie-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.