Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Fluvanna; Prince Edward; Cumberland; Goochland; Mecklenburg; Lunenburg; Nottoway; Amelia; Powhatan; Western Louisa; Eastern Louisa
Mecklenburg County, Virginia severe weather history spans 357 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,443 nationally and #34 in Virginia.
357
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$3.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Mecklenburg County, Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Mecklenburg County, Virginia severe weather history averages 5.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 131 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 338 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Mecklenburg County, Virginia record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $3.1M 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 Mecklenburg County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 207 | 0 | $563K | 69 | 1960–2026 |
| Hail | 50 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1984–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 39 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 37 | 1 | $159K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $3.1M | F2 | 1978–2019 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $13K | 0 | 2000–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2020 |
Decade by decade
Mecklenburg 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: 12 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-08-29 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-10-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-02-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-01-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-10-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-01-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-09-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-10-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Mecklenburg County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 9, 2024 | Flash Flood | BLACKRIDGE | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 15, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 29, 1988 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Law Enforcement reported a death in the vicinity of the Tanglewood Shores recreation and boat ramp on the night of January 9, 2024. News articles about the event mention that the individual was driving his golf cart during the heavy rain and was washed away by the rushing creek water. The road where this individual usually drives his golf cart was flooded, leading to this conclusion. The time is estimated from radar.
NWS storm survey found EF1 tornado damage along a path from the North Carolina Virginia line near Keats Point northeast through Palmer Point Recreation area, then to a point about five miles west of Bracey. Numerous trees were downed or snapped, minor roof damage occurred to a few homes, minor structural damage occurred to one home and a shed, and one home was moved off its foundation.
Tornado briefly touched down along and just south of the John Kerr Reservoir in southern Mecklenburg county. The tornado caused minor tree damage along Phyllis Road south of Boydton, uprooting a few trees and snapping off several others. The tornado lifted and continued north northeast crossing Route 58, before touching |down again in Baskerville along Baskerville Road, and uprooting and breaking numerous trees. A barn on Baskerville Road was destroyed with at least two walls failing. Some additional minor structural damage to flashing was noted to another outbuilding just north of VA-47.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
30,516
Population (ACS)
$193K
Median home value
20
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 |
| Oct 15, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE FLORENCE | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Mecklenburg County, Virginia?
357 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $3.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Mecklenburg County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 207 recorded events — 58.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Mecklenburg County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Mecklenburg County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Mecklenburg County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Mecklenburg County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mecklenburg County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 54 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Mecklenburg 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
- Mathews County 124
- Middlesex County 169
- Madison County 367
- Montgomery County 513
- Lunenburg County 199
- Louisa County 344
Cite this page
“Mecklenburg County, Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/virginia/mecklenburg-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.