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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brookneal, VA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

30 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Brookneal, Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 27 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
3

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
27

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
27

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
1

2 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Brookneal

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Brookneal, Virginia, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021ElsaJul 873 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2020ZetaOct 2924 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2018MichaelOct 1165 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 5
2003IsabelSep 1948 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 5
1996FranSep 611 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 3
1979DavidSep 543 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 5
1955DianeAug 189 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 2
1954HazelOct 1548 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 126 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2940 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1945Unnamed 1945 stormSep 1830 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 252 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 255 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormAug 1240 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 421 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 125 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1655 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormOct 3157 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 2
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 302 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 1332 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2920 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 3
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2463 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1059 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJun 2258 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1885Unnamed 1885 stormOct 1318 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1883Unnamed 1883 stormSep 1256 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1141 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormSep 1344 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 473 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1749 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Brookneal: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Brookneal

By decade

  • 2020s2
  • 2010s6(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s10
  • 1990s1
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s3
  • 1960s1
  • 1950s2
Strongest tornadoes near Brookneal, Virginia
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 24, 2016EF311 mi16.89 mi1 / 7
Apr 27, 2011EF27 mi18.1 mi1 / 7
Nov 2, 2018EF217 mi1.74 mi0 / 0
Apr 28, 2002F223 mi10 mi0 / 12
Oct 13, 1983F218 mi5 mi0 / 0
Jun 25, 1977F222 mi3.6 mi0 / 0
Sep 10, 1960F223 mi1 mi0 / 0
May 27, 1957F25 mi9.3 mi0 / 0
Jul 24, 2024EF119 mi9.3 mi0 / 0
May 27, 2022EF112 mi0.06 mi0 / 0
May 11, 2019EF16 mi4.1 mi0 / 0
Apr 15, 2018EF113 mi1.7 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 27, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Brookneal while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Virginia