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Isle of Wight County, Virginia severe weather history spans 288 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,849 nationally and #48 in Virginia.
288
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$5.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Isle of Wight County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Isle of Wight County, Virginia severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 98 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 11 events fall before 1990 and 277 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $3.0M 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 Isle of Wight County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 145 | 0 | $460K | 64 | 1974–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 43 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 36 | 0 | $3.0M | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Hail | 34 | 0 | $500 | 1.75 | 1974–2022 |
| Tornado | 16 | 0 | $1.0M | F2 | 1960–2023 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $28K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Isle of Wight County, Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-11-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-04-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-10-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-02-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-07-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-09-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Isle of Wight County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | LAWSON | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado damage was along a nearly continuous 20 mile damage path from east of Walters to just southwest of Smithfield. Many trees were downed, sheared off or topped, and a number of power lines were also brought down. More than 2 dozen homes were damaged with a few sustaining significant damage. Several farms were impacted with farm equipment picked up and tossed around. The most significant damage occurred in the first 10 to 12 miles of the tornado path.
The tornado touched down just east of Route 258 near the Town of Walters. The damage began as it crossed Stevens Drive, where large tree branches were broken. The tornado then tracked east northeast and uprooted numerous trees near Ballard Road. After crossing Ballard Road, the tornado knocked down a pole barn, destroyed a garage, and damaged a roof of a house near Collosse Road. The tornado continued to track eastward, roughly following Rhodes Drive, where it blew a roof off of a church near Little Norfolk Road. The tornado did more tree damage before lifting shortly after crossing Spivey Town Road.
Numerous trees and power lines down, also throughout county. Several barns damaged, one collapsed. Also, small grain silo and tractor-semitrailer overturned in the Orbit/Lake Butler area (eastern part of county). Twenty to 30 trees snapped off. Occurred between SR 600 and SR 654.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
39,974
Population (ACS)
$357K
Median home value
20
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 |
| Oct 15, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE FLORENCE | DR |
| Sep 11, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM |
| Nov 2, 2016 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MATTHEW | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Isle of Wight County, Virginia?
288 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Isle of Wight County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 145 recorded events — 50.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Isle of Wight County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Isle of Wight County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Isle of Wight County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Isle of Wight County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Isle of Wight County as very low risk, placing it in the 38 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Isle of Wight 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
- Highland County 110
- James City County 240
- Henry County 639
- King and Queen County 150
- Henrico County 547
- King George County 257
Cite this page
“Isle of Wight County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/isle-of-wight-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.