Essex County, Virginia severe weather history spans 170 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 62.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,610 nationally and #92 in Virginia.
170
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
25
Direct injuries
$4.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Essex County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Essex County, Virginia severe weather history averages 2.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 63 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 7 events fall before 1990 and 163 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $4.5M 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 Essex County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 106 | 0 | $207K | 52 | 1976–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 25 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Hail | 23 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1990–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $195K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2018 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $4.5M | F0 | 1954–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2016 |
Decade by decade
Essex County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
2 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-02-24 | EF3 | 0 | 25 | 30.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Essex County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 2016 | Tornado | HOWERTONS | 0 | 25 | $4.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rains associated with Hurricane Irene produced widespread low-land flooding across much of the county, including roadways which were washed out or closed. Storm total rainfall generally ranged from five to nine inches.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
10,623
Population (ACS)
$238K
Median home value
27
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 |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Essex County, Virginia?
170 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Essex County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 106 recorded events — 62.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Essex County?
2 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 1 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Essex County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Essex County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Essex County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Essex County as very low risk, placing it in the 19 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Essex 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
- Fairfax County 1,489
- Dinwiddie County 244
- Fauquier County 787
- Dickenson County 192
- Floyd County 207
- Cumberland County 157
Cite this page
“Essex County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/essex-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.