63
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$14.5M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Henry County, Virginia: 63 recorded events between 1996 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #413 nationally and #15 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Henry County, Virginia: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Henry County is the 2000s, when 24 of the county's 63 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Henry County archive, flash flood makes up 9.9% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #413 for this hazard and #15 within Virginia, putting it in the 86.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for flash flood in Henry County with 22 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2004 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 9, 2024 | OAK LEVEL | 0 | $25K |
| Oct 29, 2020 | PRESTON | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 29, 2020 | COLLINSVILLE | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 21, 2020 | BASSETT | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 21, 2020 | PHILPOTT | 0 | $0 |
| May 25, 2020 | FIELDALE | 0 | $1.2M |
| May 25, 2020 | BASSETT | 0 | $25K |
| May 25, 2020 | SANDY LEVEL | 0 | $0 |
| May 25, 2020 | IRISBURG | 0 | $5K |
| May 24, 2020 | FONTAINE | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Henry County
- Thunderstorm Wind 401
- Hail 130
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Smith River was reported to be completely flooding over River Road in Fieldale near Shadyview Road. The Smith River at Bassett (BASV2) stage was around 12 feet near the time of this report. The river crested at 13.35 feet (14400 cfs) around 822 EST per USGS statistics. No flood stage had been set at this gage mainly due to the flood control exercised by Philpott Dam. But the stage was the 2nd highest since dam began operation in 1952, after the flood in September, 1987 of 15.20 feet. It should be noted that Philpott Dam lost power earlier in the evening due to a mudslide and the dam operators were unable to reduce downstream flows to the normal extent.
Henry County was part of Presidential Major Disaster declaration with significant damage to roads and other structures. There were nearly a dozen calls to the county 911 for flooding, including several road washouts and motorists trapped in a flooded vehicle. Residents of Blackberry Mobile Home Park also reported flooding. The time of occurrence is based on reports and the time of highest runoff from the CREST hydrologic model.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding that caused most roads in and around the town of Bassett to be closed. The Blackwater Trailer Park had to be evacuated after Blackwater Creek left its banks. Damage values are estimated.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Henry County, Virginia?
63 flash flood events are recorded in Henry County between 1996 and 2024, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Henry County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Henry County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Henry County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Henry County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/henry-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.