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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prospect, VA

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

34 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Prospect, Virginia since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 24 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
4

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
30

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
24

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
2

1 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Prospect

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Prospect, Virginia, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021ElsaJul 870 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2020ZetaOct 2919 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2018MichaelOct 1171 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 5
2008HannaSep 674 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2003IsabelSep 1923 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 5
1996FranSep 634 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 3
1979DavidSep 655 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 5
1955DianeAug 1811 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1954HazelOct 1532 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 133 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2944 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1945Unnamed 1945 stormSep 1824 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 2075 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 240 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 246 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormSep 1964 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 5
1928Unnamed 1928 stormAug 1117 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 2
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 426 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 121 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1652 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormOct 3147 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 2
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 3019 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 1315 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2927 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 3
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2466 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1155 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJul 274 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1885Unnamed 1885 stormOct 136 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1883Unnamed 1883 stormSep 1240 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1143 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormSep 1361 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 467 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1876Unnamed 1876 stormSep 1769 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 3
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1751 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Prospect: 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 Prospect

By decade

  • 2020s1
  • 2010s7(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s1
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s4
  • 1960s2(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s3
Strongest tornadoes near Prospect, Virginia
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 24, 2016EF38 mi16.89 mi1 / 7
Jun 16, 1966F319 mi1 mi0 / 0
Oct 13, 1983F218 mi5 mi0 / 0
May 12, 1974F221 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 10, 1960F24 mi1 mi0 / 0
May 27, 1957F211 mi9.3 mi0 / 0
May 27, 2022EF123 mi0.06 mi0 / 0
May 11, 2019EF117 mi4.1 mi0 / 0
Oct 11, 2018EF121 mi1.35 mi0 / 0
Apr 15, 2018EF124 mi1.7 mi0 / 0
Apr 27, 2011EF110 mi5.54 mi0 / 0
May 8, 2008EF18 mi0.68 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 24, 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 Prospect 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.

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