Frederick County, Virginia severe weather history spans 514 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #825 nationally and #16 in Virginia.
514
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$10.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Frederick County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Frederick County, Virginia severe weather history averages 7.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 243 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 12 events fall before 1990 and 502 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Frederick County, Virginia record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $4.6M 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 Frederick County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 260 | 0 | $1.8M | 87 | 1962–2026 |
| Flood | 112 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Hail | 79 | 0 | $4.6M | 3.5 | 1960–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 34 | 1 | $2.6M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Lightning | 12 | 0 | $279K | 0 | 1996–2008 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $1.4M | F2 | 1961–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2005 |
| Strong Wind | 1 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Frederick County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 10 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-09-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-07-13 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-06-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-04-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-07-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Frederick County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2014 | Flash Flood | BRUCETOWN | 1 | 1 | $5K |
| Sep 17, 2004 | Tornado | MIDDLETOWN | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Jun 10, 2008 | Lightning | BRUCETOWN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | EAST PORTION | 0 | 1 | $100K |
| Aug 16, 1996 | Lightning | WINCHESTER | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jan 14, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jul 13, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down in western Frederick County, Virginia on the 17th. The path of the storm was 9 miles long. It touched down about one mile east of Middletown and Interstate 81. Roof damage was noted to many barns and outbuildings. A large two story brick garage was nearly destroyed when its roof was blown off from strong F1 tornado winds. In the western end of the Stonebrook Farm Subdivision, an estimated 100 oak and other hardwood trees ranging from 18 to 36 inches in diameter topped or snapped 20 to 50 feet up from the base in roughly a 2 block area. One home was completely destroyed and over 100 others damaged due to falling trees.
An old telephone pole snapped, causing a chain reaction that brought down about two dozen other poles along VA-656 Greenwood Road between VA-657 Senseny Road and VA-655 Sulphur Springs Road. No other tree, branch, or structural damage was noted in the area.
An F2 tornado produced a nearly continuous path of damage for 5 miles in eastern Frederick County. It touched down west of Millwood Pike near the Winchester Airport. Three homes suffered roof damage, a detached two car garage was destroyed, a platform deck was blown away, an office trailer was overturned, and numerous trees along the track of the storm were uprooted or topped.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
95,008
Population (ACS)
$386K
Median home value
19
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 |
| Mar 7, 2016 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Nov 26, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Frederick County, Virginia?
514 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $10.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Frederick County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 260 recorded events — 50.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Frederick County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 10 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Frederick County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Frederick County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Frederick County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Frederick County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 45 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Frederick 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
- Franklin County 760
- Giles County 294
- Fluvanna County 189
- Gloucester County 210
- Floyd County 207
- Goochland County 242
Cite this page
“Frederick County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/frederick-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.